One Piece - Sky Pirates
by AlcatrazDGold
Summary: Set over 100 years after the disappearance of Monkey D Luffy and his re-hiding of the One Piece. Another Pirate Era was sparked when the last was slipping away in search of this great treasure. The End War changed the power balance of the world and now tensions once again rise. The World Government have taken control of parts of the world, rebuilding what was lost to them.
1. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 1)

**Chapter 1: Romance Dawn**

* * *

 **-Toredo Island-**

It was morning time at the large island of Toredo. The port town of Poto was busy as usual as another ship was about to dock any minute now. Poto was a well known trading city throughout the East Blue. The towns itself was small in its building's sizes, mainly just residencies and shops were built here. The only large structure was the lighthouse atop a cliff to the South of the town. If you wanted to find anything rare, exotic or expensive, this was the place to look. The town of Poto was the biggest town on the island, the island had another port town on the western side of the island and a tiny village to the north within the jungles of the island. The dock workers prepared to take in another trade ship that came from near the Calm Belt with new goods and treasures.

When the ship had finished docking, a man leapt from the railing of the ship to land on the jetty with a **_thud_** ,he was carrying a small bag with him. He was dressed in a coral colored pair of sleeves that exposed his chest and back, connected by a hood of cloth that dangled off the back of his neck, black pants that extended to just below his knees that were tied to his waist with an orange sash as a belt, he wasn't wearing any shoes and had a necklace of wooden beads that reached his sternum. He had very short black hair, a strong nose and green eyes. He stood at 6 feet tall and was of a lean muscular build, well trained.

"Ah!" he said as he dropped the bag and stretched out his muscles, "This looks like the best place to start off my journey. Now, I just need to a crew and a worthy ship to start!" he said to himself, and one could see the determination in his words. He picked up the sack and moved from the docks to the town itself.

As he walked the streets, he was fascinated with the people and the city itself. It all seemed so different from where he came from. Kids running around chasing each other, people trading at stalls all down the street. It was way more lively then his home. He wandered up to a random stall to look at the different goods they had on display.

As he went from stall to stall he didn't realize how far down the street he had gotten in that short time. He was nearing the edge of the town. When he went to pick one of the pieces of exotic looking swords he stopped when he heard someone say,

"Mountain bandits again! It's like the fifth time in three days.", said a man standing in a group of men and women They all looked somewhat troubled. He wasn't anything to look at, dressed in a bland way. He was just your average civilian.

"How much have they stolen in the past three days? It has to be something over five hundred thousand beli by now!", stated another man, who sounded very annoyed by it.

"They keep getting braver and braver everytime. First it was once a month, then once a week and now this?! It's too much!", yelled one man, clearly outraged by these bandits.

This caught our man's attention, "Hey!", he shouted toward them, gaining their attention, "What's all this about mountain bandits you're talking about?", he asked, genuinely curious.

"You're not from around here are you, pal?", one woman asked, this earned her a nod from our man, "Well, bandits came by and set up a fortress in the jungle a few months back and then have been causing trouble ever since.", she stated sadly, her livelihood had taken a hit from all the raids.

"There has even been rumours that the small village up north was destroyed because they tried to stop them. They were rumoured to have taken women and children from the village.", added another woman, who looked a tad frightened by the thought of some bandits raiding their town.

"I see," he replied to her. This sounded exciting one way other another, 'Maybe I could find a crew up there.', he thought to himself. The prospect of finding his first crew mate began to rile him up.

"Don't worry sweetheart, that won't happen to our town.", said a man next to her, suspecting they were husband and wife. The group began to move on from their conversation and slowly made their way back up the street toward the docks.

'Well, better go check that place out.', he thought to himself. A grin formed on his face at the adventure his about to have.

"Hey young man!", yelled someone to his right. He turned to see an old man sitting on a bench across the street, looking at him with a curious expression. The geezer was short, had a bit of a hunch and wore baggy clothes that made him look even smaller. He had a long white beard and a pair of spectacles. He to be older than any other 'old man' he seen before. He looked ancient. "I know that look, boy, don't bother going up there. Those bandits are as good as gone.", the old man stated like it was fact.

"Why's that?", he replied to the old man. The old man smiled at him, "What's your name, lad?" he asked kindly.

"Bellow Itzal! Nice to meet you, sir.", the man now identified as Itzal yelled back as he smacked his chest, proud of the name, knowing it would one day be world famous.

The old man smiled, "Well, Itzal my boy, there's a bounty hunter that showed up not too long ago and he's heading up there to take them out!" the old man replied joyously. Showing a bit of life in his old bones even if it was for a second.

 ** _Crack!_**. The old man ceased his quick movements and rubbed his back, he groaned to himself for a moment.

"Just one guy?", asked Iztal noticing he said 'he,' Itzal was also wondering who this person was to go take a bandit stronghold solo.

After the old man recovered, "Ever hear of the 'Head Hunter' of the North Blue?", asked the elder man, who began to stroke his long white beard. The old man's expression changed however when Iztal shook his head.

"Uh, well, he's a well known bounty hunter of the North Blue. Many describe the man as a 'Devil' in his battles. 'A devil dressed as a man' most people say. He's been in the East Blue for over a year now.", explained the old man, slightly surprised he had even heard the alias this young bounty hunter went by.

"Really?", Itzal smiled at the image of a devil, "That's exactly the kind of guy I need in my crew," Itzal spoke aloud. This caught the old man's attention.

"Crew? What crew do you speak of, lad?", he asked, both curious and concerned.

"My pirate crew of course!" Iztal said, emphasizing it with a hand gesture, as if it was obvious, "I need strong crewmates to journey with and this guy sounds like he'd be a great crew mate," he explained to the elder before him.

The old man looked at the young man before him, the thought of him being a pirate brought a smile to his face. He didn't seem all that intimidated by this news. "Oh so you're a pirate, are you?"

"Yeah, I'm searching around looking for crewmates to sail with. It's my dream to sail the seas to achieve the greatest ambition the world has ever seen," Iztal told the old man with a determined and fired up expression on his face, not really finding any reason not to express his burning desire in his goal.

"So you're just going to go and ask people at random to join your crew?" asked the old geezer who was hiding a smirk, Itzal felt like he was repeating himself slightly with the old man.

"Yeah, anyone strong to help me on my journey of piracy. And this 'Head Hunter' guy sounds perfect!" Itzal continued to explain, starting to get a bit bored just standing here explaining this for the past few minutes while a potential crewmate was on the island.

The old man rolled his eyes at his answer, he'd already heard him say that. The old man sighed in defeat, although you could see he still had a smile plastered on his face. "Well, best of luck to you, young man. If you want to know where this fortress is, it's in the jungle between this town and the one directly west of here. If you're any kind of pirate you'll figure the rest out on your own," the old man told him, with a slight jab at the end of it for humours sake.

Itzal just smiled at the old man, "Thanks elder-san. I better get moving," Itzal bowed slightly, as he looked toward the vast jungle ahead of him. A sense of adventure began to run through his veins as he began to move toward the jungle with gusto.

Itzal slowly picked up pace, the sack on his back bouncing around, threatening to spill its contents as he ran. The old man simply remained seated on the bench as he watched Itzal's fading figure head toward the jungle.

The old man gave a warm and content smile, "A dream, huh?" , he spoke aloud, as he watched Itzal's figure completely disappear into the jungle path. The old man looked to the sky, "It's good to see that kind of ambition again," he finished. The old timer laughed to himself, that really did make his day.

* * *

 **-With Itzal- Jungle of Toredo Island-**

Itzal sprinted his way to the fortress, his speed through the jungle was impressive. Leaping over fallen debris or logs without a care, he made it look effortless. The small sack on his back bounced wildly from left to right. As he leapt once more he was forced to dodge an attack from behind a tree. A sword implanted itself into the tree Itzal had just passed, stuck at head height. Itzal stopped and spun on his feet to face his random attacker.

"Grrrrr," growled a burly man, "You the bastard that's attacking our base!" he yelled, his voice sounding like he'd eaten gravel for breakfast.

"Nah I'm not attacking your place but that's where I'm going right now," answered Itzal calmly. Relaxing his stance a bit.

"We got a call over a den den mushi that someone was attacking our camp! Who the hell are you then if it isn't you!" he continued to yell, two other men appearing from the shrubs behind him. Both the other men looked rather weasel-ish. Like the "stab you in the back" kind of fighters.

They all wore some kind of leather armour in some form or another, whether it was shoulder guards, chest or gloves. Their clothes were baggy, ragged and smelt of cheap ale.

"Well, I'm not the one attacking your bandit fortress," Itzal explained, "But I'm looking to ask the guy who is to join my crew," continued Itzal, who grinned at the end of his statement.

All three men glared at him before the burly one roared at him, "So you are with him! Kill him!" All three of the men charged Itzal, the two small guys further behind the big bear of a man.

The brute swung his large sabre at Itzal aiming for head hoping for a quick kill, however Itzal simply dropped the sack and leapt over the swing. As the brute swung his back after the first miss, Itzal ducked below and delivered a fierce punch to his stomach effectively winding him and causing the enormous man to slide backwards across the jungle floor a huge distance.

"Bastard!", one of the 'runts' yelled and he went for a straightforward thrust with a knife, only for Itzal to sidestep the strike, raise his arm above the guys head and dropped his elbow with extreme speed. The first weasel was floored to the ground with a lot of force, cracking the earth beneath him and was down for the count.

A rustle from the shrubs behind him alerted Itzal to someone's presence, and sure enough the other 'runt' leapt out at him with two knives, ready to slash Itzal to pieces. Itzal, having already sensed he was there, spun on his heel to face the sneak attack.

As he closed in on the pirate, Itzal deflected the knives with his wrists, leaving his attacker wide open, arms spread either side. Panic spread across the mans face, "Shit!", he grunted in that brief moment before Itzal spun on his front foot, swinging his back elbow around right into the man's face, every movement was perfect and precise. Absolute control over his body. The impact shattered his nose causing blood to spray over his face. He flew back a few feet before he fell on his back unconscious as well.

"Little bastard, come here!", yelled the enormous man, once again charging Itzal after his short recoverary. Itzal smirked, he slowly lined up his fist with the centre of the brutes chest and pulled his arm back ready to fire off a punch, steam began to radiate from Itzals fist.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal shot his fist forward, a wave of heat was fired off from his fist, travelled through the air with ease and passed right through the brute of a man.

The large bandit stopped in his tracks, eyes wide open in shock, sweat pouring from his face as he dropped his large sabre. His chest having been scorched by the attack. He tried his best to remain standing but that attack had done too much for him to handle.

"Y-(wheeze) ...you b...bas...tard," his words were weak before he too fell to the ground, face down in the dirt.

Itzal stood by the small sack on the ground and looked between the fallen men, all of them were merely unconscious, still breathing. That was easy as always. He grinned, "Well that's over," he turned to the direction the men seemed to be heading, "Shouldn't be long now," he stated, sensing the presence of a lot of people ahead. Although, one more powerful than the rest.

"Come on! Where are you guys?!" yelled a panic voice, Itzal turned to where the voice had come from. There was nobody there, "Anyone there?! We need help! This guy's insane!", the voice sounding even more distressed than the first time before being cut off. Itzal then realize it was a den den mushi inside the big guys coat. Itzal smiled, "Good, he's still there."

Itzal quickly plucked up the small sack he had been carrying and began to once again sprint through the jungle, making his way to the bandit fortress. It took a mere minute for Itzal to make it through the dense jungle trees and shrubs. The fortress stood in front of him, a massive stone and wooden structure, with Jungle trees surrounding the fortress from all sides. The back of the fort was protected by a sheer rock wall. However the main entrance was already broken through. Claw marks riddled the walls but the door looked to have been shattered by a blunt force strike.

"Kill him already!" a voice echoed from somewhere on the other side of the wall. It sounded like it came from an open courtyard beyond the main outer wall.

"Well, that'll be the best place to find this guy!" exclaimed Itzal, who couldn't stop an excited grin from forming. His first crewmate wasn't far now. Itzal was convinced he'd have this guy in his crew.

Itzal sprinted through the main hall of the fortress. There were claw marks along all the stone and wooden walls, defeated bandits sprawled across the ground, some bloodier than others, but all of them alive. Hopefully. Not much was left standing.

As he reached the other end of the main hall and entered the massive courtyard you could hear what Itzal assumed were bandits yelling.

"Stop moving you bastard and die!", one yelled as he and the group of bandits behind him charged an individual in the centre of the courtyard. He stood out among everyone else here.

This man stood at six feet and two inches, muscular and well built, he wore a black casual dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up, thin leather gloves, dark red trousers tucked inside black boots. Hidden under his leather bush hat was very short messy red hair, his eyes were a vibrant yellow, his right eye having a scar running down from above his eyebrow to level with his nose.

'This guy must be the 'Head Hunter' I'm looking for, thought Itzal, as he casually observed the fighting in front of him.

The man in the centre merely laughed, "You's don't learn do y'as!" he yelled, his voice carrying across the massive courtyard. The first bandit closed in and this man grinned, as the bandit swung his sabre, the 'Head Hunter' simply leaned back to avoid the strike. When the sword passed him, he darted forward and smashed his fist into the bandit' face, slamming him into the ground.

The next bandit didn't fair better, as when he went for a downward slash, the 'Head Hunter' leaned to his left, dodging the blade to swing his fist upward, giving one fierce uppercut.

"Nice!", yelled Itzal, which actually drew a lot of attention to himself, including the 'Head Hunter'.

The 'Head Hunter' looked directly at Itzal, he didn't say a word because he didn't know who the fuck this guy was. Some random guy wandering into a bandit fortress was definitely strange, right?

"Kill him!", screamed one scrawny looking bandit before charging at Itzal, a knife in hand. Over half the bandits seemed to forget about the 'Head Hunter' and charged Itzal instead.

Itzal once again dropped the small sack he was carrying before charging the advancing squad of bandits. The 'Head Hunter' merely watched as Itzal was charged by the bandits, not all that concerned by the bandits still near him. He was more impressed by the random stranger that walked into a bandit fortress.

"Kill them both!", yelled the bandit closest to Itzal, sword ready to strike. His stained sabre lashed out at Itzal, only for him to weave out of the sabres path. This in turn caused the first bandit to stumble forward due to over extending himself. This gave Itzal an opening to strike the bandit in the back of the neck. Dropping him to the ground.

The second bandit fell just as the first, their attack was dodged then countered with a punch or kick. One by one, they fell before Itzal, none of them could lay a finger on him. They were cannon fodder.

The 'Head Hunter' kept his eyes on Itzal as he went through the bandits one after the other, 'Not bad," he smirked as he too defeated each bandit that came at him.

"What's going on here?!" bellowed a deep gravelly voice from the entrance Itzal had come from. All the others bandits froze on the spot, confusing Itzal and the 'Head Hunter.' They both turned to the entrance to see a massive man with a large squad of bandits armed with rifles and pistols behind him.

This guy stood at eight feet easily, with a real musclehead look to him, shaved head and very tanned skin. He carried an enormous hammer that dwarfed the bandits that were with him. He wore a ragged and torn military coat, baggy trousers and boots. He looked 'pissed off' as an expression.

"Boss!" yelled one of the bandits near Itzal, 'So this is their boss?' both Itzal and the 'Head Hunter' thought, not really all that impressed by this guy.

"Can you useless fucks not even keep _my_ fortress safe while I'm gone!" he continued to yell, emphasizing the word ' _my_.'

"S..s..sorry b..boss, these guys are s..stronger than they look," one bandit stuttered, while also backing away from his boss from fear.

The boss looked toward Itzal and the 'Head Hunter', and his expression just became one of anger. "These pathetic fucks?! You can't deal with two people?!" he was furious now. How could these two guys wreck his fortress and threaten his power over this island?! All the bandits around Itzal and Rob were sweating nervously after that.

"Who are you bastards?!" he roared at Itzal and the 'Head Hunter'. Just before the 'Head Hunter' was about to answer, Itzal spoke up.

"The name's Bellow Itzal! A pirate that will be the future Pirate King!", he exclaimed, you could almost feel determination on every word. The 'Head Hunter' just looked Itzal, he was actually rather surprised that he went quiet at that mad declaration. Everything went quiet for a few moments.

"Pfft, HAHAHAHAHAHA", the 'Boss' gave a hardy laugh followed by all the bandits that were with him. Some of them hunched over in their fit of laughter. Even a few of the bandits near Itzal and the 'Head Hunter' gave a small chuckle.

The 'Head Hunter' watched Itzals reaction, Itzal didn't seem all that bothered by the laughter even though they were laughing at his statement.

The 'Head Hunter' smirked at the scene in front of him. He had to admit, he was impressed by that declaration.

After the laughter died now everyone regained their composure, "Oh you're a funny little man aren't you?" spoke the 'Boss', as he began to grin like a mad man, "You're fucking crazy! Nobody could ever do that! Someone like YOU could never doing something like that!"

The 'Head Hunter' tilted his hat to shadow his face as he watched this exchange between them. Itzal simply stood his ground, not at all that bothered about the insult.

"Of course I'll do it! I'll achieve the greatest dream there is! No matter how many people say I can't!" yelled Itzal, who smirked at the end of the sentence. "And that guy will be my first crewmate on my journey to become Pirate King!", Itzal pointed toward the 'Head Hunter'.

The 'Head Hunter' looked at Itzal for a moment to see if he was joking. When he realized he wasn't, he stood up straight, folded his arms and smirked at Itzal. "That so? And what if I don't want to go with you? After all, I have my own ambitions I want to achieve. And my dream isn't some joke," spoke the 'Head Hunter'.

"Your own ambition? That's perfect! I need people with strong goals and ambitions in my crew." Itzal stood with a confident posture, still grinning.

"Fair enough," was all the 'Head Hunter' added before he closed his eyes with a smile. You could sense some kind of link between them after that conversation.

"Enough of this bullshit!", yelled a voice closing in on Itzal. They both glanced over to see the boss dash toward Itzal, hammer ready to finish off Itzal.

The grin never left Itzal's face, the 'Head Hunter' didn't even bother to move at the approaching threat. Itzal charged as well.

"Die! You worthless bastards!" The boss swung his hammer over his head. Itzal jumped up into the air as it slammed onto the ground he just stood on. In mid-air Itzal kicked him in the face with both feet.

The massive bandit rolled backwards for a moment from that strike. "You fuck…", he dragged out. The other bandits watched in awe. Their boss just got knocked back like it was nothing.

Itzal stood back up straight and stood in a relaxed stance. The boss got back up and charged him again. "Die, you worthless pirate scum!"

The 'Head Hunter' raised an eyebrow at how relaxed Itzal looked. The bandit was closing in.

But than he noticed something, "Is that… steam?", he whispered. He hadn't seen something like that before.

Itzal was emitting steam from his body right where he stood, 'the 'Head Hunter' also noticed the smirk on Itzals face. The bandit swung the massive hammer directly above Itzal. **_Wham!_**

" **Vulcan Prayer!"**

All the bandits around them were stunned, "What?!", was the choice of word for most of them. Itzal stood there steam and heat pouring from his body, but what was more shocking for the bandits was the fact Itzal caught the hammer with both hands like it was nothing.

"What the hell is this?!", exclaimed the enormous bandit. He couldn't believe this 'wimp' stopped his hammer like that. Just than the hammer began to melt and was _absorbed_ into Itzals body. The head of the steel hammer had completely melted away in a mere second.

The 'Boss' stumbled back holding the large handle to his former hammer. "What the fuck!"

" **Prisoner Prayer!"**

An eight foot steel chain formed from each of Itzals hands, "Try this," spoke Itzal as steam erupted from all over his body. His skin became red from the massive heat generation. Everyone was speechless, what was this? And the chains looked to be _alive!_ They were moving like snakes.

Itzal swung the chain on his right and wrapped it around the bandits leg. "What!" he exclaimed. Itzal than swung the chain dragging the bandit over Itzal and slammed him into the ground cracking the ground from the impact. He than did it again slammed him into the ground where he once stood.

The bandits around them were too stunned to do anything. How could they? Their strongest and most terrifying fighter was getting his ass handed to him.

Itzal than spun on the spot and flung the massive man through the air. He slammed into a nearby wall ten feet away. The chains on his body were absorbed back into his body but he was still emitting vasts amount of steam.

"Kill him!" yelled one of the bandits that were with the boss. They all raised their pistols and rifles like a firing squad. Itzal smirked and raised his arms out straight either side of him and stood ready for the onslaught of bullets.

The 'Head Hunter' simply remained where he was, watching everything unfolding in front of him. He was impressed by this Itzal guy. Let's just say he made up his mind about his earlier declaration.

"Fire!" the same bandit yelled. All at once the squad of gunmen fired at Itzal. Over fifty shots were fired, but Itzal just stood there, unfazed. Nearly everyone's jaws dropped as Itzal just took every single shot.

" **Penance!"**

Itzals body became superheated, heat waves and steam poured from all over his body. Than all of a sudden a volley of bullets shot out from various parts of Itzals body directed right back at the original gunners. It hit every single one of them in some form, some in the leg others in the arm, but none of them fatally hit.

"Die!" the enormous bandit leapt at Itzal from behind, having drawn a massive knife that looked more like a sword in size. Itzal casually looked back. "Hmmm?" The bandit swung the blade toward Itzal.

But nothing happened to Itzal, everyone looked at the scene before them, once again shocked. Between Itzal and the bandit stood the 'Head Hunter,' arm out stretched holding the blade with his… fingers.

" **Dragon Claw!"**

The 'Head Hunter' than shattered the blade with his fingers alone! He leapt up into the air, flipped mid-air and swung his foot down onto the bandits head, slamming him into the ground, causing the bandit to go unconscious from the overhead kick.

"Thanks! uhhh...", said Itzal as he looked over his shoulder toward the 'Head Hunter.

"The names Rob, Jackdaw Rob,", he smirked, "Captain," he added with a grin. He then stood up straight and stepped back. Both Itzal and Rob looked around at all the bandits, they all seemed to scared out of their minds because some of them panicked and ran, while others simply remained frozen where they stood.

"Oi, Itzal," spoke Rob with a smile, gaining Itzals attention. "What's the plan now? Leave or finish this off?"

"Let's end this!", was Itzals reply as his body began to emit steam again. Rob only smiled at the answer.

Itzal and Rob than spent a mere five minutes clearing out the rest of the fortress. Not a single bandit giving them any sort of challenge, to their disappointment. Although, they did enjoy destroying the place as they did. So that's a bonus.

"I really wanted a challenge…", Rob was disappointed by the lack of 'fight' in these guys. Itzal just nodded an agreement as they both returned to the courtyard.

Itzal retrieved the bag he'd brought with him before turning to Rob. "Come on let's head to the town and get off this island!"

Rob merely replied with 'Ay' and a quick nod of the head.

And with that, both Rob and Itzal left the decimated fortress behind them to head back to town to acquire a ship of some kind, to get the hell off this island and go on the hunt for other potential crew mates. As they both learned, neither of them had a ship as they just ship hopped to get to Toredo Island, so they had to get their hands on one first.

* * *

 **-Poto Town-**

Itzal and Rob wondered back through the main street of Poto town that Itzal had come from earlier that day. They had to get their hands on a ship but neither of them had much money if any money at all, but Itzal had a backup plan if they needed some money.

"Oh so you made it back alive did you young man?" a voice to their right called out to them. Sitting by a fountain was the old man from before.

"Hello Elder-san!" Itzal spoke with enthusiasm, "Those bandits weren't nothing we couldn't handle! They shouldn't be a problem anymore." The old man smiled at Itzal's words before spotting the red haired man beside him.

"So you got your first mate did you?", his smile only growing wider.

All Itzal and Rob did was grin at the old man. He chuckled at their response. "So where are you both heading now then?"

"Well," Itzal began, "First we need a ship to begin our journey. Think you can help us with that Elder-san?" Itzal asked hoping this would be a quick fix to their 'lack of ship' problem.

"I believe I can. I got a small boat that you could use until you get your hands on something proper," the old man smiled, "I'll trade it to you! What you got to give?" he said. Rob remained silent during their exchange, not knowing what Itzal had planned.

"Sure thing! You can have one of these." Itzal opened up the sack he had been carrying to reveal that inside were two strange looking fruits. Devil Fruits!

The old man went silent, stunned at actually seeing one. "Are they both devil fruits?", asked Rob as he leaned over to inspect the sack, not all that surprised by the fruits.

"Yeah they're both devil fruits, they should be enough for the boat.", explained Itzal, holding the sack open for the old man to see them.

"You want me trade a boat for a devil fruit?", asked the old man in disbelief. He'd never thought he would see a devil fruit let alone be given one. He was amazed.

"Take your pick elder-san, and then show us our boat." Itzal just wanted to get out to sea already. The old man nodded. He ended up picking the yellow pear shaped one, leaving behind the pink apple shaped devil fruit. After taking the fruit and examining it for a moment and began to make his way to the docks to show them the boat.

The boat was small, one small plain white sail, room for a max of three people. It wasn't anything special. if anything it really wasn't even worth the price of a full devil fruit but, Itzal and Rob had no money so they had to give something. Plus,he old man wasn't going to complain at all.

"Well Rob, lets get going. On, to the next island!", exclaimed Itzal as he jumped into the boat, causing it to rock in the water. Rob smirked and leapt in after him, hoisting the sail after he did. Itzal sat down the front of the ship, Rob at the back, operating the rudder of the boat.

"Thanks for the boat Elder-san!", Itzal called back to the old man as they began to make their way out to sea.

The old man chuckled to himself, "Good Luck!" he shouted, "Pirate King!" he added the last part even louder than the first part. Causing a few passerbys to look at them strange at the mention of 'Pirate King.'

Itzal and Rob waved off the old man as they headed further out to sea. All three of them smiling like mad men.

* * *

 **-Somewhere in the East Blue sea- With Itzal and Rob-**

Itzal and Rob had only been sailing for fifteen minutes or so, but they were actually both rather excited by where they would land next, Itzal more than Rob.

"Oi, Itzal," Itzal turned to his 'First mate', "We have a name as a crew yet?", Rob was curious as to what they would be called as pirates. They'd have to be known as something.

Itzal glanced at the clear blue skies above, "We're the Sky Pirates," Itzal gave a small smile of satisfaction.

"Why Sky Pirates?", Rob continued to question Itzal, after all if he was to be his captain he'd want to know more about him and this 'journey' they were going on. Itzal's gaze never left the sky.

"The Sky is truly the place without limits. There's nothing and no one to stop you or tell you were to go next. You merely go wherever you want. Truly free…" Itzal nearly whispered the last part as he continued to watch the sky.

Rob smiled at his answer. He had to admit, it had a nice ring to it. "I can guess this answer but have you ever been a captain of a ship before? Any idea on what you're doing?"

Itzal laughed at the question, "Nope, I actually haven't seen much of the world," Itzal explained, "That's why you're going to be my vice-captain. You got that?" Itzal smirked at Rob who was the one to laugh this time.

"You got it, Itzal.", Rob liked that, not bad being the vice-captain to a pirate crew, even if it was just the two of them.

"I got a question for you Rob. What was your ambition you mentioned earlier?" Itzal asked. Rob began to get a bit excited at the question.

"I want to become one of the strongest people in the world! But I want to do it my own way. Not with fancy devil fruit or a weapon. That's why I set out to sea. I want to prove to the world how strong I am! I don't need a devil or weapon to be strong. I'll be the source of my strength! And if I have die to achieve my dream so be it!", exclaimed Rob, through the whole explanation he got louder and more passionate in his words. It was hard to miss how much heart and soul he put into his dream.

Itzal couldn't hide the smile that little speech caused still looking to the skies above.. He'd always been fascinated by the passionate dreams of men and here he had found a crewmate that was truly passionate in his will to achieve and dedication to his dreams.

"Itzal," Itzal faced Rob, "Why the pirate king? What made you choose that as your dream?", Rob had caught the joyous smile Itzal had after Rob's little speech and wanted to know why Itzal wanted to go for the title of Pirate king.

"Because it's the greatest dream on the seas. The greatest ambition on the seas.", Rob listened quietly to his words, "It's a dream that many would call foolish. People will see it as crazy. Everyone will say I 'can't' do it or it's 'impossible for me to do it'. But that's exactly why I want to do it. I want to achieve what others say is impossible. When the world says I can't, one day I will say 'I did!'", the smile on Itzal's face threatened to split it in too with how big it was.

Rob leaned back, his hat cast a shadow over his face. "I see," was all he said. But you could easily tell it was with a huge smile of his own.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 complete. What did you guys think? Good, Bad or in between? Leave a review on what you readers out there think. Has its similarities with the main story but trust me it'll change more as we go along.**

 **I aim for five thousand words per chapter, so it'll take time for me to write each chapter but I'll do my best to not keep you all waiting. I'd also like to thank everyone for their time and effort with their OC submissions. I'm both grateful and honored from the effort people put into this just for my silly little story. Thank you all.**

 **Bellow Itzal is created by Condor k, who also beta-read the first chapter for me, so special thanks to them for the help.**

 **Jackdaw Rob is my personal creation in the story and I'd like to know your thoughts on the characters in the crew so far.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold- Till the next chapter… (Chapter 2 - We did something…)**


	2. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 2)

**Chapter 2 - We did something…**

* * *

 **-With Itzal and Rob in the East Blue sea-**

The sea was calm and gentle. The skies above were clear, no a cloud in sight revealing a beautiful blue sky with streaks of orange from the rising sun. It had been two days since Itzal and Rob had set out from Toredo island. They took their time, resting when they needed it. Most of the trip had been idle chat or silence as Rob tried to guide them to another island. Although the trip so far had been peaceful, there was one problem.

"I wish we had gotten food before we left," said Rob in a casual manner, leaning back while still manning the rudder of the small boat.

"Agreed, this kind of sucks," Itzal too was starting to get hungry. "And, the only source of food for us to eat would be that devil fruit sitting there," Itzal nodded his head toward the sack containing the remaining devil fruit.

"I wouldn't really call that food. It'll kill you if you ate it and I would rather die than eat the damn thing in the first place so that's no help," added Rob, knowing about the effects of eating two devil fruits. "We should have traded the thing for actual supplies or something. It's useless to us." Rob threw his ungloved hand into the water as the boat glided through the East Blue, feeling the water run through his fingers.

"Exactly, but how do you know about devil fruits? I heard they were rare in the blue seas. Elder-san back on Toredo island seemed shocked to see one," said Itzal,

Rob leaned his head back to look at the sky, "Let's just say I know a bit about the damn things." His tone became somewhat harsh at the mention of the fruits. Itzal caught the tone and decided to the drop the topic of devil fruits.

Itzal blinked once before changing the topic, "You know where we're going? Because I sure as hell don't," joked Itzal, who gave a small laugh. Rob shook his head at his friends sudden attempt at humour. He basically just said, If you don't know where we're going, we're dead.

"The ship I used to get to Toredo island had passed another island on the way over but I didn't realize it was so far." Rob sighed, "That was the island I'm currently trying to guide us to. But it may be some time away unfortunately," explained Rob, he had enough navigational skill to at least make it to another island.

Itzal threw up his hood and lay down in the nook of the bow of their small boat, relaxed his body before facing Rob, "Well, we may as well pass the time," Itzal smiled, "I have to say, I want to know a bit more about my first mate."

Rob grinned, "I guess I should do the same. Alright then." Rob shifted where he sat and paused for a moment, thinking up a question. He ended up asking a rather basic one, "Where are you from in the first place?" asked Rob with a straight face glancing over to Itzal. He had to admit, Itzal stood out in a crowd with how he dressed somewhat similarly to a monk.

"I was born on Reverse Mountain, where I lived for all my life until recently," explained Itzal, Rob looked rather impressed by what Itzal said, not everyday you hear someone was born on Reverse Mountain.

"Reverse Mountain? Why would you live up there in the first place?" Rob was actually curious to know why someone would want to make their home there.

Itzal glanced over to the sea around him, "I was raised in a monastery atop Reverse Mountain. The Order of Angels ran the place." Rob listened intently to Itzal's story, "The Order trained its members in the art of 'Life Return.' An art that allows the user to control every part of their body down to an individual hair strand as well as anything connected to my body." Itzal continued to explain.

"Life Return? Sounds pretty interesting as an _art_ so to speak. That how you can control the chains you made back at Toredo?" asked Rob, he was surprised to see Itzal's abilities. He had seen devil fruits before but he wondered about what Itzal's devil fruit was really made of.

Itzal clicked his fingers, "Yep, as long as they remain attached to my body I can control any metal construct I make." Itzal gave a small chuckle, "I have some tricks up my sleeve for the future. Trust me."

Rob smiled slightly, "I'd expect nothing less," joked Rob, "Why'd you leave?" Itzal shifted at the question.

"I wanted to leave, but the seniors of the monastery wouldn't allow it. So I tried to get myself exiled by breaking a major rule or two." Rob listened quietly to his story, "I ate a _forbidden_ devil fruit in an attempt to be exiled, but the order just ended up completely turning on me and tried to kill me for my crimes. The Order sees devil fruits as _unholy_ and _evil_ so they tried to purge the evil from within me." Itzal gave a weak laugh, thinking back, that might have been bad idea. Rob didn't seem all that impressed or amused, he remained still but he titled his hat so his face was shadowed over by his hat.

"After that I escaped and hid out on an island, I trained and survived there for awhile." Itzal continued, "Now that I'm free I've decided to go become Pirate King!" Itzal began to fidget where he sat which Rob took notice of, this caused a smile to form on his face. Even if you couldn't see it.

"Well?" Itzal said expectantly, Rob glanced and blinked for a moment.

"Well what?" was his reply.

"Well, what about you? Where are you from? I heard you're from the North Blue. That true?" Itzal asked, seeing as he shared where he was from he wanted to know where Rob came from, a fair trade.

"Oh, yeah, it's true. I was born and raised in the North Blue for seventeen years before I left and became a bounty hunter," answering Itzals question, "I didn't plan on it but as I went around the North Blue, money became an issue so I took a few bounties and made a living off it over the years. I wandered the North Blue for about two years before I eventually came over to the East Blue, I'd say I've been in the East Blue for almost a year I think." Rob added at the end. He looked to be thinking for moment to confirm it in his head.

Itzal sat up and crossed his legs, "Where about in the North Blue? What island?" Itzal was finding this intriguing to hear. Travelling for three years Rob had probably done and see a lot of things before.

Rob turned back to Itzal, "Diavolos Island, in the far north of the North Blue. Place was rather big, from what I saw during my travels it certainly was a contender for biggest island in the North Blue." Rob had to admit, he was proud of his origin. He did love his home island… Or what was left of it.

"So you left to pursue your dream?" asked Itzal, he had already assumed the answer was going to be a _yes_ , the nod of his head confirmed Itzal's assumption.

"What about how you fight? That's a really interesting fighting style you used back at Toredo Island. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Itzal began his bombardment of questions with a relatively basic one.

"I learned it from an old coot back on Diavolos, I use two fighting styles combining them into one, making a mix martial arts so to speak. I learned Ryusoken, a hand based combat style. I use the _claws of a dragon_ to fight." explained Rob, demonstrating with his left hand, the three talons of the claw. "The other is a leg based combat style, Black Leg style. Which uses swift and powerful kicks as its form of attacks. If I add Haki to the mix there's nothing I can't do." Rob smirked at his own statement, having pride in his fighting abilities and how far they'd come from when he started.

"You can use haki?" asked Itzal, he was both impressed and interested in seeing more of Robs fighting style in action and what he had up his sleeve.

Rob nodded, "Ay, my old man taught me." Rob paused for a moment before looking at the sea around them. "Whenever he was around, anyway."

"That's cool, I learned haki from the order," Itzal said, answering the question as well.

"I figured, an order that hates devil fruits would know about the best way to combat the damn things," replied Rob, who saw it as rather obvious. He turned to look at the sky above.

"So you know both observation and armament haki?" asked Itzal which he got an _Ay_ from Rob as a reply.

"Then which did you specialize in?" Itzal continued his game of twenty questions. Not that Rob minded he actually rather enjoyed the discussion they were having. It was nice to get to know each other, seeing as they were going to be sailing the seas together.

"I have an affinity for armament haki. Which also happens to be what my old man had an affinity for. Guess I'm more like him than I first thought." Rob leaned his back against the rear of the boat and closed his eyes to enjoy the simplicity and peace of the sea. "What about you?"

Itzal rested his arm on the edge of the boat, "I know both as well but my affinity is for observation haki which works great with my devil fruit and life return."

"I'd say so, you got one hell of a devil fruit. I'm interested to see what kind of damage you can do." Rob laughed, getting his blood flowing for their next fight, Itzal joined in with the laughter.

"We'll see." was all Itzal added before he glanced out to the sea. It was fun to talk like this, they'd completely forgot about their lack of food and just enjoyed the company.

A brief pause followed, "How'd you get the title of _Head Hunter_ while travelling?" asked Itzal, causing Rob to turn to face him. Itzal noticed he looked to be debating something in his head.

"Well let's-" Rob paused and sat up a bit and tilted his hat up slightly, his eyes focused on something a distance behind Itzal, "What the hell…" Rob seemed rather surprised at what he saw. Itzal swung his head over to where Rob was facing and was amazed.

"Holy shit! Look at the size of those ships!" exclaimed Itzal, a distance away from them was a small fleet of ships. Five _marine_ ships to be exact.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" asked Rob to nobody in particular, Itzal turned back to Rob and saw he looked rather confused for some reason.

"What's up Rob?" spoke Itzal, which drew Rob from his surprise. He blinked once before speaking.

"It's just you don't _ever_ see marines in any of the blue seas." explained Rob, as he leaned back down, "They're so rare in the blue seas that some people say the marines are a myth that others made up to give people hope."

'So that's why he's surprised to see them, but he knows about them as well,' thought Itzal curious as to how Rob knew by just seeing it even though he said they're rare, Itzal planned to ask about this later. He turned back to the five ships and smiled, "Well let's get over there. They're the biggest ships I have ever seen and I want to check them out!" said Itzal who stood up by the bow of their small boat facing the marine ships ahead of them.

Rob looked at Itzal's back for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and grinned to himself, "Why the fuck not." Rob muttered to himself as he adjusted their course to cut off the marine ships.

The marine ships didn't appear to be at full sail meaning they weren't travelling full speed, which Rob also noticed as they closed in the on the ships. The sea still calm making it literal smooth sailing over to the marines.

As they closed in, Rob inspected the ships, 'Three battleships and two transport marine ships in a tight formation. Just what the hell is this?' thought Rob, still confused about the marine presence in the East Blue. Something was going on, Rob was certain of that.

As they neared the ship a voiced boomed at them from the deck, "Halt! The area around these ships are restricted, meaning all non essential personnel must vacate the area! Any closer and we will be authorized to use force to cease your advances!" The voice appeared to be crackly in its tone meaning it came from a den den mushi.

Rob didn't seem to even hear the voice or he didn't care, either way he just kept the boat sailing straight toward the ships, Itzal didn't appear to concerned by the warning.

"We just want to check out your ship!" He shouted toward the voice, "Oh, and we need some food if you have any to spare! We can trade for it too!" Itzal added on to his statement, from his statement you could tell what he wanted most by the order he prioritized what he said.

"Final warning! Any closer and we will open fire!" ignoring what Itzal said. As if to reinforce his warning a multitude of canons trained themselves on their small boat, including the massive forward cannons swiveled toward them.

Itzal scoffed, he seemed more annoyed over anything else by the threats, telling them he couldn't do something, fuck that. Rob just sat there waiting to see what Itzal would choose to do but to be fair he was hoping he'd just go for it, fuck the warning, let's get us some wanted posters.

From where they were they could see the decks of the ships were littered with marines, weapons at the ready for a fight. As the boat sailed closer to the marines, Itzal's decision was made for him.

"Fire!" boomed the voice, the den den mushi crackling a bit from his loud mouth order. With that, two of the battleships unloaded their broadships, firing off nearly one hundred shots at the small sailing vessel. Talk about overkill.

 _ **Boom!**_

From the marines perspective the small approaching boat exploded in a enormous, _glorious_ fireball from their volley of cannon fire, that's what they'd call it anyway. The sea became choppy from the sheer amount of explosions, shards and splinters of wood littered the seas surface. The approaching _threat_ had been neutralized.

"Talk about rude, fuck sake…" spoke a voice, still sounding rather casual, from atop the cannons on the bow of the battleship, startling all the marines on deck, turning to the origin of the voice they all were shocked.

Atop the the main cannons stood Itzal and Rob, Itzal carrying the small bag containing the last remaining devil fruit in it, Itzal's expression was best described as _**pissed off**_ to say the least. Rob's expression was hidden by the shadow cast over his face, but by the vibe he had radiating from him, he wasn't too far behind Itzal despite how casual he appeared to be.

Itzal tossed the bag to the deck and jumped from the canon to land along side it, "You bastards destroyed our ship!" roared Itzal, steam erupted from his body, the heat across the deck increased drastically.

Rob remained atop the canon observing the marines that were surrounding them, waiting for Itzals first move before he made his. Rob wanted a fight, you don't go blowing up a person's boat like that, he just wanted Itzal to make the first move.

From the other ships around them you could hear people yelling, "They've boarded one of our ships!" or "We're under attack!" It was odd how much they cared about two guys boarding one of their ships.

As the marines on deck prepared for a fight, a voice roared from behind them all, "Who are you and what are you doing aboard my ship!" Itzal and Rob shifted their attention to the owner of the voice once he said _my_ ship, indicating he must be the highest ranking officer aboard.

The voice appeared to come from a large man who stood firmly behind the rest, although he looked ready to lead the strike against Itzal and Rob at any moment. He and the man next to him stood out among the rest of the marines that surrounded them. The first guy looked to be six foot five and muscular, with dark brown hair and red eyes, a scar running over his lips and down his chin. He wore military boots, dark blue combat trousers, a black military jacket with a black shirt, wore the marine cap atop his head and a marine cloak draped over his shoulders. He didn't appear to be armed.

'Typical _rigid_ marine higher up,' thought Rob as they both still observed the two of the _outstanding_ marines. But, both Itzal and Rob could tell, they wouldn't be a pushover.

To his right stood another equally large man, which Rob suspected was the next in command after the first guy. The second guy seemed to be the same height roughly, you couldn't really make out the features of the person however. The shiny _fuck off_ suit of full knights armour made that a difficult task. The armour was decorated with shades of blue and navy cloths and engravings of the navy's symbol and his rank seemed to be engraved into his chest piece, revealing him to be a lieutenant. The line markings with slashes through them on his helmet indicating how many _criminals_ he had killed, which was a lot if the markings were accurate. Two broadswords on his hips, one on each side.

"I think the heat stroke is getting to me…" Rob deadpanned as he saw the knight, "Who the fuck wears a suit of armour at sea?" he muttered mainly himself, Itzal still hearing it smiled slightly at the cheeky comment.

Not wanting to leave the introductions for any longer, "I'm Bellow Itzal! Captain of the Sky Pirates!" exclaimed Itzal before pausing for a moment, seeing it a chance Rob introduced himself.

"Jackdaw Rob, Vice Captain!" interrupted Rob, which got a smirk from Itzal as they stood their ground.

"Now! Why the fuck did you blow up our boat! That was a gift!" yelled Itzal, his anger still present about destroying the old man's boat.

"You sailed into a restricted area! As the captain and commander of this operation, you gave me no choice but to engage! However, now that you reveal yourselves to be pirate scum you will be killed! Surrender and we will show mercy or die right now!" returned the _captain_ , who began to walk toward where Itzal and Rob stood, his lieutenant right behind him.

"What is your decision, scum!" roared the captain, as he now stood in front of the other marines, his lieutenant still beside with one sword drawn.

"Rob," spoke Itzal, his tone flat and low, Rob watched from his position atop the cannon. Itzal looked up to stare at the Captain, "Destroy those ships!" pointing toward the other ships around them, "The captain is mine!" Rob only grinned and replied with an _Ay._

The captain wasn't too pleased by this statement, "Atticus! Engage Jackdaw! Leave this _captain_ to me!" ordered the marine captain mocking the word _captain_ as he did, with a simple nod from his subordinate, the man now identified as _Atticus_ charged Rob atop the cannon. Rob's grin only grew wider as he turned where he stood, ran along the barrel of the cannon and leapt toward one of the transport ships.

Rob wanted to divide the two and leave himself and Itzal plenty of room to let loose as much as they want and not interfere with the other's battle. That, and he wanted to destroy a ship or two while Itzal fought with the captain.

Itzal glanced over his shoulder to see Rob and Lieutenant Atticus disappear over the edge to board another ship. His attention once again on the captain. "What's your name?" asked Itzal, while still emitting steam his body giving off a red tint from the immense heat.

The man growled but answered, "I'm marine captain, Hatoresu Bodhi and commander of this operation that you're disrupting!" His tone of voice giving off _disgust_ and _disdain_ with having to speak to a pirate. "Men, engage the pirate!" Bodhi roared to his men.

" **Vulcan Prayer!"**

All the men present had surrounded him in a semicircle with the cannon behind him, believing to have him trapped they charged Itzal swords at the ready, there must have been over one hundred marines on the main deck of this battleship alone. It still wouldn't be enough.

" **Iron Wash Out!"**

All the marine grunts continued to charge forward unaware of what Itzal had just done. That is until they all felt something extremely hot under foot which caused them to sweat from the intense heat. Most of them stopped and looked down, to their surprise they were standing in liquid metal. As soon as they looked back to Itzal, he smirked.

The liquid metal was flowing from his hand and covered a large area of the deck much to everyone's surprise. All of a sudden the metal they stood in solidified in an instant, cooling rapidly. All the marines running forward were stopped in their tracks, the sudden stopping making some drop their swords. They all had their feet trapped in the metal, unable to escape.

" **Pocket Cannon!"**

Itzals body became superheated, a pillar of steam and heat waves erupted from his body. His stance was wide and in his hands formed a massive ball of pure heat. Itzal glanced back to the marines and threw the ball of immense heat into the crowd of stuck marines.

As the ball of intense heat energy reached the centre of the crowd, it reached critical mass and exploded. The initial heat blast was indescribable. The wood of the ship was burned and charred black, the main sail had burn holes through them. The heat re-liquidated the metal enough for the marines to no longer be trapped but they too were blasted by the heat. Their uniforms had been burned off, their skin received minor second and possibly third degree burns on some of their exposed flesh. The force of the explosion rendered most of them unconscious, while others were flung over the railing of the ship into the sea.

Almost all of the marines had been dealt with in a single attack. _Almost_ …

Itzal knew _he_ wouldn't have been taken out by that attack. Itzal looked up to see the captain standing further away undamaged, having dodged the attack. His fists clenched, anger radiating from him.

The fight had begun…

Bodhi kicked off the ground and charged Itzal with incredible speed. Itzal barely having time to weave his head to his right to avoid the first strike but the second strike went unnoticed by Itzal.

Bodhi's fist connected with Itzals stomach, the force slammed Itzal into the main frontal cannon of the battleship, leaving an indentation of Itzals form in it. He pulled himself out of the cannon and glared at his opponent.

'Fast…' he thought as he let out a lowly groan.

His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Bodhi had disappeared from in front of him. Sensing a presence coming down fast above him, Itzal leapt forward to avoid the descending strike.

" **Fist of Justice!"**

Itzal glanced over his shoulder has he dived to see Bodhi hit the cannon. The cannon buckled under the haki infused strike, the steel it was made of breaking apart like it was nothing. Rolling across the ground Itzal stopped and stood up.

" **Righteous Kick of Reparation!"**

Relying on his observation haki, Itzal planned to sidestep to the right of the attack. Itzal watched as Bodhi shot toward him at great speed, haki infused foot first. Itzal had dodged his kick at the last moment, at the exact moment half of Bodhis body passed him, he coated his arm in haki and slammed his fist down into Bodhi earning a grunt of pain from the impact. Bodhi was launched through the deck into the berth of the ship, splintering the wood as he disappeared into the ship.

Not wanting a crafty sneak attack, Itzal leapt up onto one of the railings to avoid being on the floor Bodhi was directly under, the railing sizzled from the heat of Itzal's bare feet. Itzal wasn't stupid, he knew Bodhi would get back up. He had strong aura about him.

" **Omniscience Liberated!"**

Itzal closed his eyes for a brief moment, to analyze and scan for Bodhi's next move. He could sense him below deck. Itzal opened his eyes quickly, predicting what was about to happen he went to avoid it. Canceling Omniscience Liberated before he did.

" **Mercury Prayer!"**

Itzal forced a vast amount of heat to his feet, forming jet streams of heat along his body, using that heat, Itzal propelled himself with extreme speed into the sky above, getting as high as the mast with no effort in the jump. Just as he did,

" **Righteous Force!"**

A directional shockwave blasted through the railing he just on and a large section of the broadside of the battleship and exploded into sharpenal of wood and metal, leaving a gaping hole in the ship. Through the fragments and debris in the air, Itzal saw Bodhi standing below.

"You're destroying your own ship! Your own men are still aboard!" Itzal roared toward the bastard, his own men still sprawled across the main deck, unconscious.

"A worthy sacrifice in the pursuit of justice!" Bodhi roared back, clenching his fists becoming angered at being lectured by a filthy _Pirate._

This statement just angered Itzal further. Was this what Marines were?! People who would sacrifice anyone and anything for Justice?! This wasn't even justice to begin with.

* * *

Rob landed on the stern of the ship, overlooking the main deck that still had marines shattered across it, they all scrambled around, unsure of what to do. Rob ran and jumped from the stern of one of the transport ships. He knew Atticus was behind him, he had heard the order from Bodhi before he jumped from the ship.

He landed amidst the scrambling marines, being unseen by the unobservant marine grunts. He stopped for a moment before sensing an incoming attack. Rob kicked off the ground and shot forward to avoid the strike.

" **Cavalier Cleaver!"**

As Rob landed closer to the bow of the ship, he spun on the spot and saw a massive hole through the main deck of the ship. Standing at the edge of the newly formed hole was the _knight_ with both his swords drawn, thirsty for Rob's blood. He looked very intimidating in his armour and his large blades. Well intimidating to most…

'Yep… Still weird,' Rob sweatdropped to himself as he stared at the knight that was trying to look imposing. Still odd seeing a knight at sea. Let alone a marine knight, it just didn't add up in Rob's mind.

"Halt, criminal!" ordered Atticus while he raised his blade and aimed it toward Rob. This gained the attention of the marines aboard this ship, who ran to back up the lieutenant. "Surrender! You are trapped and outnumbered!" Rob rolled his eyes at that statement.

"Really? You're asking again?" said Rob who sighed, "We're pirates. Since when do we surrender…" he muttered, loud enough for Atticus to hear and, he glanced down for a moment.

"Then you shall die!" roared Atticus, insulted by his casual manner given his current situation. 'Is he not taking this seriously?!' Atticus thought to himself, only further angering himself the longer he thought about it. When he looked back up he saw Rob crouched down on his knees.

"So you're surrendering? A wise choice! Men arrest hi-" Atticus began to order his men before being lifted both his clenched fists and smirked before slamming them into the main deck of the ship.

" **Dragon' Breath!"**

In an instant the force of the wind swept all of the marines off their feet and shot them into the air, all of them yelling and shouting in a panic. The wind swirled around Rob as cracks appeared in the ships bow, as soon as the cracks appeared the entire front half of the ship shattered around them. The front half began to sink into the sea, the other half barely remained afloat and stable on the sea after the massive outburst of wind.

As marines fell from the sky after being flung from Rob's technique, he stood up and smirked at the destruction he caused. Marines taken care of, one ship sinking and he's only getting started. A good day in Rob' book.

" **Strike of Noble Champions!"**

Rob flinched for a second, sensing the attack he readied himself for the strike.

" **Dragon Claws!"**

At the last moment Rob slammed his claws into the approaching threat. Looking directly in front of him, Atticus stood there, swords in between them. However, the swords were now stuck there as Rob had caught a sword in each hand, now it was a power struggle as they both stood dead locked.

'He's strong… Stronger than a lieutenant should be.' thought Rob as he calmly analysed his opponent, Atticus trying to overpower Rob. The floor they stood on cracking under the forces in their deadlock. If this kept up long enough, Atticus could gain the upper hand.

Deciding to make his move Rob clenched down on Atticus' swords and swung his leg behind him. Atticus wasn't expecting this and didn't release his swords when he noticed his movements. Rob spun his whole body a full three hundred and sixty degrees and dragging him across the floor before he flung Atticus through the stern of the sinking ship, leaving a large hole and splintered shrapnel.

Rob stood up straight just in time before the ship rocked violently to the left, the sinking ship leaning further away from the other transport ship to its right. Rob looked to the other ship knowing this one wasn't staying afloat for much longer.

" **Zeal of the Templars!"**

Rob leapt sideways and rolled forward across the deck to the railing leading to the other ship. Rob glanced over his shoulder to Atticus had launched a ranged slash attack with his duel wield broadswords.

'Impressive. Ranged slash attacks.' After a quick mental note of his opponent's ability to fight at range Rob ran jumped onto the railing and leapt across the water below. Landing on the other transport ships deck. That was a solid thirty foot gap, made to look like nothing.

Rob turned back to face Atticus and he too leapt into the air to continue the chase. However Rob's attention was briefly taken when he noticed movement on the other ship. People looked to be climbing out from below the deck. However, as Rob looked closer he wasn't sure what to say.

"Is that a… snake?" muttered a confused Rob, who let his guard down for a single moment to examine what he was seeing. That moment was enough for Atticus.

" **Cavalier Cleaver!"**

Knowing he had no time to dodge because of the distraction, Rob coated his arms in armament and raised them above his head in an 'x' shape. Right before the strike landed Rob looked to where he believed Atticus to be and saw he was above him and had coated his blades in armament as well.

The strike came down hard, the force almost shattering the entire deck Rob stood on but he remained standing holding off the strike, Atticus suspended in the air. This was a test of strength. Having enough of this. Rob retaliated.

" **Gut shot!"**

Rob swung his leg straight up and gut shotted Atticus, breaking the armoured chest piece with his fierce kick, earning a gasp of pain. Atticus was launched into the air from the force, but he recovered quick and landed on his feet. If he hadn't had his helmet, his glare would have cut like a sword.

"Impressive, pirate. You would have made a fine marine with your strength." Atticus had to praise this man. He was a strong opponent and clever as well.

Seeing an opportunity to fuck about, Rob took it. "Flattery will get you nowhere, _good sir!_ " making a joke of the good sir. Atticus seemed offended by this if his tightening of his swords was anything to go by.

Rob's fun was interrupted when he noticed further behind Atticus the people he saw on the other ship seemed to enter the stern of the ship. They looked to be in search of something. Rob thought he was seeing things.

"Was that a robot… and a mink?" Rob was now seriously confused. 'I was joking about the heat stroke… I think,' he thought as he blinked once to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

Rob shook it off and refocused on Atticus but when he did.

 **Kaboom!**

The transport ship they had been on minutes ago suddenly exploded into a massive fireball. Rob and Atticus shielded their faces from the shockwave. It was a powerful shockwave but they got through it with little effort. They both looked toward the flaming wreck.

"What the fuck is going on…" said Rob to himself as he deadpanned slightly. This was getting weirder by the second.

* * *

Itzal was suspended in the air above Bodhi after dodging his attack, using his heat jets to help maintain his levitation. Before Itzal made his move something distracted them.

 **Kaboom!**

The transport ship Rob had disappeared to suddenly exploded, for reasons neither of them could understand. Itzal hoped Rob was alright but he knew Rob was strong, he had nothing to worry about. Itzal glanced down to see Bodhi distracted by the explosion of one of his ships. This was the time to strike.

" **Mars Prayer!"**

Itzal held out both of his hands, metal following from his palms. The metal quickly shaped itself into a pole before solidifying. Concentrating, Itzal forced one end of the large polearm into a blade, creating a full metal glaive. Using his heat jets Itzal descended on Bodhi with blinding speed. As he brought the blade down, Bodhi leaned out of the path of the strike as the blade struck the deck. The strike split the deck open, the fracture travelled across the deck and went up the main mast of the ship, severely damaging it.

Not being fazed by the miss, Itzal ripped the glaive from the deck and spun on his front foot, bring the blade with him and slamming the blunt side into Bodhi's side. The power behind this strike forced Bodhi to skid across the floor, barely staying upright as his feet dug through the deck.

Bodhi's faced twisted in pain for a brief moment, "Bastard…" was all he said. As he regained his _intimidating_ facade. Itzal remained unimpressed by his aura, he simply twirled the glaive in his hand before leveling it toward Bodhi.

"Back at ya!" With that, Itzal and Bodhi charged one another. When they closed the distance they both swung a flurry of strikes, so fast they moved like a blur. Itzal weaved out of every fist or kick swung his way, while Bodhi blocked every strike of Itzals glaive. They were evenly matched.

The final strike of this outburst came as Itzals haki infused glaive struck Bodhi's haki infused fist. The backlash of the collision was enough to force Itzal and Bodhi to fly backwards from one another.

As Itzal skid to a stop he impaled the glaive into the floor and took a wide stance. This was taking longer than originally thought. He hadn't expected this captain to be a match for him.

" **Pocket Cannon!"**

Another massive heat ball formed in his hands, Itzal wanted to end this. He was unsure if this would work but he had to give it a shot. As the heat ball inched closer to critical mass he shot his palms forward and forced the ball toward Bodhi. Bodhi had prepared a similar attack, hoping to end the young pirates rampage.

" **Righteous Force!"**

The two forces collided, fighting to overpower the other but neither being able to. The next second the two forces combined into one massive unstable energy in the centre of the ship. Both Itzal and Bodhi stood motionless, surprised at what they saw. Itzal flinched when his observation haki warned him of incoming danger. Not ignoring this warning, Itzal spun and the spot and retreated further back toward the stern of the ship and hid behind the mast. He wasn't too concerned by what happened to Bodhi right now.

Then it happened…

 **Kacrack!**

A massive explosion shredded the battleship. No flames but a massive powerful shockwave of heat. As the dust settled, Itzal peered around the mast to examine the damage.

There was a lot of damage.

The entirety of the front half of the deck was completely obliterated, even the deck below that had a hole in it that exposed the deck below that one. The railings were non existent, the frontal cannon was hanging from the front of the ship. Even with all that damage, nothing was enough to sink this battleship.

'Damn, these are some tough ships,' thought Itzal as he continued to survey the damaged ship. Even with the power behind their combined attack, he knew Bodhi escaped the blast.

As Itzal moved from behind the mast a sharp _crack_ broke the silence of the aftermath. Itzal took a few steps back from the mast and saw it was now falling toward the front end of the ship.

'Timber…' thought Itzal as he watched the mast come down hard. As it hit the edge of the ship, it caused a violent and sudden tilt to the right, Itzal maintaining his balance.

* * *

Regaining his composure from that random as fuck explosion of the other transport ship, Rob turned his attention back to Atticus waiting for his next move. But it didn't come. Rob saw Atticus standing there near the centre of the ship, watching the burning wreck slowly sink below the waves. Wasn't difficult to understand that he'd be pissed off.

"You bastard pirates…" muttered Atticus, as he slowly turned to face Rob. His body language was giving off a vibe of _fucking furious_ , which Rob picked up on. He didn't seem all that fazed by this. Sure the explosion was odd and he might be having heat stroke but it was not the worst day Rob had had.

" **Zeal of the Templars!"**

The attack was fast and unexpected. Rob infused his arms with haki and deflected the assault as it came in contact with him. The strike sliced the ship like a mad butcher. Although Rob deflected it, the speed still surprised him.

'That was rather powerful…' he thought to himself. His opponent was now enraged and was out for blood. Even though the explosion wasn't Rob's fault… At least he thought it wasn't.

Atticus remained where he stood after launching the attack. Not rushing him while Rob dealt with the strike. 'Was is he planning,' Rob observed Atticus from across the deck, this wasn't really a fight for Rob, the lieutenant seemed distracted. He was strong for a lieutenant but still no match for Rob, personally Rob would have liked a go at the captain but Itzal wanted to play as well. For shame.

Seconds had passed now as they both stood where they were. As the standoff began to reach a boiling point, they both knew someone had to make the first move. However, before either made their move a rather large distraction was heading their way. They saw the huge mast of the battleship descending upon the smaller transport ship.

"Well shit…" said Rob as he saw the mast slam into the transport ship. The ship sunk into the water slightly from the massive added weight before resurfacing. The ship cracked in two, the decks were split and cracked apart but the other hull still remained, if only barely.

Rob was smart, he knew a stupid situation when he saw one. At this rate they'd have no ship to escape on if they were all destroyed and sunk, that wouldn't work. Rob could possibly be alright, he was one hell of a swimmer. Water wasn't going to kill him anytime soon, but Itzal was a different issue.

"Well fuck this," said Rob to himself, he decided he'd commandeer one of the battleships to escape the scene, but first he had to deal with Atticus.

Luck was on Rob's side however…

"Lieutenant Gage! We have a situation!" yelled a marine grunt who emerged from the deck below. "What now?!" roared Atticus, his attention still firmly on Rob.

"The prisoners are freeing one another! They're going to try and escape! We need your assistance!" the grunt replied, his tone expressing his distress. This got two reactions, one of panic the other of surprise.

'Prisoners?' thought Rob, 'Fuck, we stumbled upon a prisoner transfer. That explains a lot,' Rob didn't really care for the trouble they'd be in for this but this wasn't the best of news. These ships were heading to Impel Down. If these ships didn't reach a checkpoint of some kind the marines would surely send more ships to search for them. They'd best get their asses out of there before reinforcements show up. Being trapped on a single ship there would be like sitting on a silver platter for the marines.

Atticus, on the other hand, was rather worried. He actually ignored Rob and ran to the other marine. "Let's move! We need to re secure and recapture the prisoners!" he ordered to the marine. As they both disappeared below deck.

"Rude…" said Rob, joking about being simply forgotten like that. Well, then was the time to commandeer a ship. With no big obstacle in his way, Rob dashed from where he stood and ran up the fallen mast before running along yard of the mast that lead toward one of the _undamaged_ battleships. Leaping through the air, Rob landed on the railing of the ship. Oddly enough, the deck was almost empty. Rob glanced down to the sea below to see marines in row boats pulling other marines out of the water.

'Lucky me. I get an almost empty ship to myself,' Rob smirked, 'I always wanted a ship for a toy.' With that Rob went to work clearing the remaining marines off the deck and ripping up the ropes they used to climb down into the row boats.

* * *

Itzal watched the destruction around him. Bodhi hadn't shown up again, so Itzal took the time to analyze the situation. He knew they needed an escape plan even though he still wanted to bash the marine captain some more, it really got his blood flowing but he didn't like the idea of being stranded here. He eventually decided it was time to leave.

" **Mercery Prayer!"**

Itzal once again formed heat jets over his body before he sprinted across the deck toward the edge leading to another ship, glaive still in hand. He jumped and propelled himself through the air using his jets as thrusters as he made it half way in noticed aboard the deck Rob was beating up marines and tossing them overboard. Not a single marine could do anything against Robs blur of punches and kicks, this earned a smirk from Itzal. His first mate was taking care of business.

As he landed with a _thud_ , Rob turned and faced Itzal. "Sup, Itzal." As Rob tossed the final marine overboard. Itzal remelted the metal glaive and absorbed it back into his body.

Although he didn't want to leave, Itzal understood they should, but he did have one positive from their escapade. He could check out this battleship as much as he wanted after they escape, it was unfortunate they had to steal the ship but it was a necessary evil and Itzal knew that.

"Let's get out of here!" exclaimed Itzal regaining some positivity, the sooner they escaped the sooner Itzal could explore the ship and anything else this ship had to offer.

Rob replied with a nod of the head as he ran toward the helm of the ship and spun it to the left, the quickest way to leave.

"Get back here!" yelled a voice off to their right. Rob and Itzal peered over the railing to see who was yelling at them. Turns out it wasn't them being yelled at. Stood on the ruined deck of the remaining transport ship stood both Bodhi and Atticus. Their attention on the other battleship that was also leaving the area. The other battleship having been damaged by attacks from Bodhi and Atticus.

Itzal looked on after the ship wondering what they were yelling about. He didn't know what or who they were yelling at or why the ship was leaving like they were.

Rob's attention was on the transport ship. From where he stood he could clearly see people lying on the ground. These people were wearing bright orange jumpsuits, this just confirmed what Rob had heard earlier about prisoners. But he also noticed the red marks all over the bodies of those laying down and figured immediately that they were killed for attempting to escape.

"So that's what's going on," muttered Rob, piecing it together.

"What's wrong?" asked Itzal having heard Rob mutter under his breath. He turned to Rob as he stepped back to the helm of the ship.

"They were transporting prisoners, Itzal. Some of the prisoners must have stolen the only remaining intact battleship like we did. Unfortunately, some of the prisoners didn't make it." Rob's face remained stoic. He didn't seem disturbed or upset, he seemed to accept it with no issue.

Itzal turned back to the carnage they'd left behind, that was now a great distance away. He could no longer see anything in detail, just the disaster itself. He wasn't sure what to make of the information, what could he do?

"Are all marines like that?" Itzal wanted to understand what these marines were like. If they are considered to be the _justice_ of the world he was glad he was a pirate.

Rob sighed, "No, not all of them. Some marines really do have the best intentions, it's just that others take _justice_ to far. With the world being so lawless for so long. The marines come down hard on crime sometimes." His explanation only helped Itzal understand a bit but he knew there was more to it than that but for now he'd hold off on the questions. It was after the battle now, it was time to recover.

Rob went over the navigational instruments that were laid out on a table next to the helm. Mainly it was just a large map with compasses and rules for charting their course but it'd still be helpful.

"Itzal! Can you take the helm while I look over these maps? I'll take the helm again once I figure out where we are," Rob stepped away from the wheel and made his way over to the stern of the ship. Itzal was quick enough to take the wheel. He smiled, this would be the first ship he manned so he was interested to see what it was like.

Glancing over to Rob, "Don't take too long! I want to check out the ship!" he yelled over to Rob who replied with a thumbs up and an 'Ay.' A positive energy was beginning to fill them both after that rather morbied scene.

As Rob went over the maps, something caught his attention, "That's odd," said Rob loud enough for Itzal to hear. "This island isn't on any other maps I've seen before," he turned to Itzal, map in hand to show him.

"So what? It's an undiscovered island?" asked Itzal, he didn't understand what was wrong about an island not being on other maps.

Rob chuckled slightly, his curiosity piqued, "Unlikely, I've seen maps of the world. Legend says that it was the previous Pirate King's navigator that drew the first map of the world. There should be no undiscovered islands," explained Rob before he grinned, "Which means all the other maps have been altered to protect this island."

"So it's an island that nobody goes too?" Itzal asked as he kept the helm straight, lucky for them the sea was still calm so it wasn't difficult for them to man the ship but they eventually need a helmsman and a navigator because Rob could only do enough for the blue sea, not the Grand Line.

"More than likely. It seems that someone wants to keep it a secret." Rob continued to examine the map. "There! We're here." Rob pointed them out on the map before smiling, "And we're not far from this secretive island."

Rob waited for Itzal's reply but he already knew what it was going to be. He just wanted to hear Itzal say it. "Then let's go! Which way?" And there it was.

"Thirty degrees port side!" Rob pointed in the direction he said to make sure Itzal understood what he meant. He had a feeling Itzal wouldn't know the difference between parts and directions of a ship.

Itzal spun the helm and swung the ship in the direction Rob had told them. He was excited to explore a _secret_ island that few people may possible know about. An adventure surely awaited them and the excitement was contagious.

Rob moved back toward the helm but stopped about half way across, "Itzal?"

"Yeah, I sense it too." replied Itzal, not needing to be asked, simply knowing what Rob was referring too. "Someone else is aboard the ship."

Rob fixed his hat, "I sense they're coming from below deck." Itzal's silence confirmed what Rob sensed. There was someone on this ship with them and they were coming up to the deck.

They both stood where they were, waiting for a person to appear at the stern of the ship. They didn't wait long before a creak of the door broke the silence.

Emerging onto the deck stood a woman dressed in an orange prisoner jumpsuit holding onto a sword in her right hand, a rapier to be specific. The weapon looked rather elegant and well made which didn't go unnoticed as well as a collection of other goods that ranged from an upper armband to a pair of glasses in her left hand. Itzal and Rob looked her over, curious as to who this person was.

She froze as she noticed Itzal's and Robs presence.

She stood at five foot six inches roughly and didn't appear to be much older than either of them. Her skin was rather pale, very pale compared to how tan Rob was. Her dark brown hair reached just below her shoulder blades, they deduced that she was thin or lean under her jumpsuit at the suit itself was rather big on her, it appeared to be a man's jumpsuit which she looked lost in. Her hazel-green eyes watched them across the ship unsure of what to do. She appeared to be examining them as they were doing to her.

Itzal and Rob came to the same conclusion, she wasn't a threat. Not to them anyway.

"Hi there," said Itzal, breaking the awkward silence that lingered between them. "Who are you?" he asked. Rob just crossed his arms and waited for her reply to Itzal's question.

The woman blinked at them, unsure if she should answer them. In the end, she lost nothing from answering them after all these two didn't appear to be marines or they would have tried to capture her. She wasn't sure who they were but they hadn't done anything, yet.

"Arkenstone Erie Zarina," she introduced herself in a calm and composed tone before asking, "Now who are the both of you?"

* * *

 **Chapter 2 complete. Sorry this chapter took so long but hey! Longer Chapter, I aim for 5,000 words minimum and I exceeded that by a reasonable bit I'd say. I had trouble getting the fight scenes right as well. I ended up scrape the first draft of the fight scene as it made the timing of everything seem off. This chapter took a very different twist than the original story, the similarities are gone now and my originality can begin… Somewhat.**

 **In my defence for how long it took for this chapter, I do have two stories going at the same time so my time is divided between the two and I might be starting another project on top of that. By the way, check out the** _ **poll**_ **on my profile to have a say in the next story.**

 **What did you ladies and gents think of the chapter? Good, Bad or Acceptable? Leave your thoughts in a message or a review and tell me everything you like.**

 **What are your thoughts on the characters now that you've seen a bit more of them...**

 _ **This story will also be affected by the you, the readers. Got an ideas or something you'd like the crew to do or some interaction you'd like to see feel free to give any suggestions you like. To the people have OC' in the story you have control over them. You want to try ship them with another character? Tell me. Something you'd like to see them do? Tell me. Is there an aspect you'd like to change in your OC? Tell me. You ladies and gents have some power to shape the story as well. Don't be afraid to tell me.**_

 **If some of you are wondering about what just happened in this chapter, don't worry you're not alone. This chapter was meant to have a bit of** _ **What the fuck just happened**_ **about it. It also leaves a few loose ends like,**

 **+What will Bodhi and Atticus do now?**

 **+Who were the other prisoners?**

 **+Was Rob really having a heat stroke?**

 **+What about the devil fruit Itzal and Rob left behind? Will that come back to bite them in the ass?**

 **+Where are they heading now that they have some secretive map location?**

 **And a few other things I teased as well. Like a navigator and hemalsman maybe?**

 **I guess we'll just have to wait and see won't we?**

 **If anyone is also wondering, I name the chapters according to its** _ **Saga**_ **. This is the East Blue saga so the next few chapters will remain 'The Blue Sea' until we reach the Grandline. Which I am unsure of how long it will take to get there.**

 **Special thanks to Condor K for beta reading the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter… (Chapter 3 - What are the odds?)**


	3. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 3)

**Chapter 3 - What are the odds?**

* * *

The sea was still calm but the majority of the day had gone. All the parties involved in the prison transport breakout were now long gone, leaving behind the devastation of their actions. Itzal, Rob and the stranger now identified as Zarina stood silent for a moment. Zarina waited patiently for their reply to her question. It was only fair as after all, she gave her name they should give theirs.

"I'm Itzal, he's Rob." Itzal hiked his thumb toward Rob, he was very straight forward with the answer but his response didn't appear to satisfy Zarina.

"I was looking for more than that." said Zarina, she put on her glasses to get a better look at both of the men standing in front of her, barely keeping all of the items in her hands from falling. "Neither of you look like mainres, so I want to know why two random civilians are aboard a marine battleship." Her tone of voice dictated she was more curious than worried.

"Well the names Bellow Itzal. Nice to meet you." Itzal politely nodded his head toward Zarina, "He's Jackdaw Rob."

"It's nice to meet ya!" interrupted Rob, who gave a tilt of his head and a small wave of the hand as he continued to stride over to the helm before Itzal continued.

"We're pirates and we _commandeered_ this battleship to make our escape before more marines showed up." Itzal turned back to keep the ship in the right heading to where Rob had indicated before handing over to Rob.

Zarina shifted slightly at the news that these two men were pirates and took a step back, and then another, a sudden burst of fear engulfed her briefly. Not that taking a few steps back would do her much good, she was trapped on a ship with the two of them, there would be nowhere to run if she had to. She composed herself for the most part after that, her expression returned to a largely unreadable poker face, a face she'd call her _customer service_ face. She understood the world was more grey than it was just black and white. All she could do was hope these pirates weren't the worst of them.

'Jackdaw Rob? Why does that sound so familiar…' Zarina wasn't entirely sure where we had heard that name before but it rung a bell, "So you're both pirates? I don't believe I've ever seen either of your wanted posters. Which crew are you associated with?" Zarina was poking questions to get as much information she could, she hoped they weren't infamous or murderous pirates.

"We're the sky pirates. I'm the captain of this crew!" Itzal stated proudly which got a smile from Rob as he continued man the helm, Zarina however wasn't as impressed by this.

"Sky pirates? Never heard of them. You mustn't be very good pirates then." Zarina instantly scolded her herself for her somewhat insulting comment, 'Why insult pirates?! That was stupid!' She internally screamed to herself. She looked down for a moment and hoped they weren't angered by her statement. When she looked up, she released a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Rob didn't seem to have even bothered to turn around at that remark and Itzal just stood there looking straight at her, seemingly unaffected by what she had said.

"Yeah, we're a new crew. Robs my first mate which I recruited just under three days ago." said Itzal who glanced over his shoulder for confirmation from Rob which came in the form of a thumbs up. Itzal turned back to Zarina, "So that's why you haven't heard of us. Yet."

Zarina straightened up more and strolled over to the main mast of the ship. She decided to position herself near something for cover if either of them made a move she kept a tight hold of her rapier. Although they weren't angered by her comment she still didn't know what kind of pirates they were and she'd be damned if she found out the hard way.

She looked directly toward Itzal and the back of Rob further behind him. Now for the biggest question. "So let me get this straight. You two _new_ pirates decide to attack a marine transport by yourselves. For what reason? I find it hard to believe you did it just because you could." Her tone was rather condescending as she spoke, she didn't mean it but it was still rather stupid to be snarky with pirates. Thankfully, neither one of them seemed to care for her tone.

It was Rob who spoke up this time, "Nah, Itzal just wanted to check out the ships or something. They're the biggest ships you've ever seen, right Itzal?" explained Rob, to which Itzal responded, "Yeah, I hadn't seen anything like these battleships before and I wanted to explore them a bit." Itzal laughed lightly, "That turned out well didn't it?" His comment got a small laugh from Rob who replied with an Ay!

Zarina was rather shocked, "So you just wanted check out a battleship? No rescue mission to free another pirate ally? Not plundering for beli or supplies?" She fixed her glasses, "Forgive me but I'm finding that hard to believe." The sea breeze picked up and rustled her hair and clothes, as it did for the others too.

"Well it's the truth. I just wanted to see a battleship. We never actually knew the ships would be here. Rob was sailing us to an island he had passed by on his way to Toredo island." Itzal scratched his chin, "Well now that I think about it we might have gotten some food out of this." He laughed sheepishly, "We haven't had anything to eat in two days."

"Well forgive me for not entirely trusting you right now. It's hard to take the word of criminals."

"That's ironic coming from a convict." said Rob casually, throwing in his two cents into the conversation. He glanced over his shoulder to look as Zarina and state of dress, she checked herself out realizing he was right. Here she was criticizing pirates while she was dressed in an orange prisoner jumpsuit. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, not happy at being caught like that.

"A fair point." was all she replied with, Rob turned back to his current duty of manning the ship. Itzal decided to join in now that the topic he wanted to discuss had come up.

"What exactly did you do to end up as a prisoner?" The question caught Zarina' attention immediately. "No offence but you don't look like a murderer or fearsome pirate. So what did the marines get you for?" Itzal scoffed and turned to the side slightly before adding under his breath, "Was it for some stupid _marine justice_ or something."

Zarina thought for moment on what Itzal said but chose to ignore it, "I'm, in basic terms, a scholar, I worked for the world government." This got both Itzal and Robs absolute attention, "Well kind of, I worked as a librarian. I looked after all books, documents, files, anything related to government paperwork basically. Unfortunately I'm sometimes too smart for my own good and I ended up digging up some secrets that weren't meant to be dug up." Zarina let out a heavy tired sigh, "Of course the government found out eventually, they do tend to notice when someone's been rummaging through their dirty little secrets. Not wanting to let those secrets slip away from them, they went after me. I tried to flee before that but I didn't last long.I..I'm far too weak to have made it. I wouldn't have lasted very long on the run. If they hadn't caught back than, it would have be soon after."

"So they threw you aboard the first ship to Impel Down to rot, right?" interrupted Rob from the helm, not turning toward her. Itzal remained in place. Zarina leaned against the mast of the ship, rapier still in her hand.

"That was what they had planned for me, yes." said Zarina, neither Itzal and Rob were impressed by this, in fact it rather pissed one of them off. "Well lucky for me, two _fearless_ pirates came and unintentionally rescued me from such a fate." She added drama to the word fearless, which got a somewhat sheepish smile from Itzal and probably one from Rob if she could see his face.

"Yeeeaah, what can I say. We just do things." Itzal defended himself, not that it was much of a defense.

Zarina just shook her head, "You just do things huh?" It was hard to believe they both attacked a marine convoy of ships, that were meant to go under the radar, that were heading to Impel Down as part of the government trying to bury its secrets on a simple whim.

"Basically." Came the replies of both Itzal and Rob at the same time.

Zarina just rolled her eyes, "You two are unbelievable." She sighed before continuing, "So, since I'm stuck aboard this ship would it be too much to ask if you were to drop me off at the nearest island so I be on my way?" She hoped they wouldn't fight her on this, she needed to get a head start on the marines as soon as possible.

Itzals reply surprised Zarina a great deal, "Sure, we'll bring you to an island but are you sure you want to leave? I'd prefer if you joined my crew!" Itzal gave a small smile and a confident pose.

Zarina just blinked at him for a moment but before she spoke, Rob jumped in, "Straight to the point aren't you Itzal?" Rob laughed to himself, which got an amused smirk from Itzal before Rob turned to face them both, one hand still on the helm. "So she'll be the second mate of the crew? I think that could work. A scholar as the third crew mate, sounds good to me." Rob gave them the thumbs up to show his agreement.

"I think I'll have to decline you on your offer. I don't think I want to be a pirate." She shut that idea down rather quickly. However, Itzal and Rob didn't lose their grins.

"Well if you ever change your mind you can join anytime." and with that Itzal returned to the maps laid out on the table near to the helm. Zarina just watched them both from her position beside the mast, somewhat confused by them both. She was drawn from her thoughts by Rob however, he called out to her.

"I suggest you go change! A prisoner jumpsuit is going to draw a lot of unwanted attention to yourself." He turned back to manning the massive ship, which he found somewhat difficult. 'Damn, we're going to need a helmsman at some stage.' he thought as he continued to steer the ship.

Zarina examined her state of dress again. He was right, this would just scream _I'm a criminal, come catch me!_ to everyone she came across, unfortunately she didn't have any clothes of her own to wear. They'd all been taken from her and were thrown away. Although she was lucky they had stored her rapier, glasses and some of her other more valuable trinkets, she still lost the majority of her things.

Rob didn't need to be told anything, "If you need clothes, raid the marines sleeping quarters, I'm sure you'll find pants, boots and a shirt of some kind." suggested Rob as if knowing what she was thinking.

She considered his words for a moment before turning to leave for the sleeping quarters below to scavenge what she could from them. Hopefully they had something for her.

With that she disappeared below into the depths of the ship in search of clothes and anything that could be of use leaving Itzal and Rob atop the main deck.

Zarina descended down the stairs to the main sleeping quarters, her thoughts on the two pirates above. 'They don't seem to be evil from that brief conversation with them but pirates are known for deceiving people and stabbing you in the back when you least expect it.' She thought, Zarina was still uncertain about them but they were nice enough to allow her request of bringing her to another island.

Zarina strolled through the halls of the marine vessel, scanning the rooms looking for a sign as to where the sleeping quarters were. Her thoughts still occupied by her two pirate _saviors_.

* * *

 **-Main Deck-**

The atmosphere had vastly improved since their departure from the battlefield. After a rather dark revelation about what the marines had been up to and the death that followed their actions it was refreshing to have a bit of positivity in the air again. The ship gentle rocked and creaked in the sea, the wind blew strong, the ship had gained a good travel speed. The skies above were clear of clouds but the sun had begun to approach the horizon causing streaks of orange to spread across the sky, the blue and orange colors of the sky appeared to be in a battle for dominance across the sky. The conversation with Zarina had been an interesting one for both Itzal and Rob.

"So what do you think? Zarina would make a great crew mate, right?" asked Itzal, who had moved to sit by one of the railings in a meditative seating position. Arms and legs crossed as he sat straight up, his attention on his first mate.

Robs lips turned up into a small smile of his own, "Yep, shame she doesn't want to join us right?" Robs statement just encouraged Itzal more.

"Yeah it is but we can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. She deserves to make her own choices." Itzal deflated slightly, "It wouldn't be right to after all those _marines_ were going to take that freedom from her." Itzal sounded slightly disgusted when he mentioned the marines which didn't go unnoticed but it went unmentioned.

"I guess we'll just have to win her over with our charming personalities and show the appeal of piracy!" joked Rob, gaining an amused chuckle from Itzal.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see." Itzal smiled slightly as he turned to the sea in front of them. It was time to see what the future had in store for them.

* * *

 **-Time Skip-**

Itzal and Rob continued on their sail, waiting for Zarina to show back up, they wanted to tell her where they were heading to. Neither wanted to leave her in the dark, they wanted to show her they were trustworthy, they'd just be honest and tell her they're going somewhere possibly dangerous and tell her to be careful when they part ways once they make land.

Zarina had spent a considerable amount of time below deck before she finally returned to the main deck, must to the others relief, waiting can be a pain sometimes. First things first, she had traded in the prisoner jumpsuit for a plain white shirt, buttoned up and tidy, with male blue pants and a pair of black marine boots. On her hip was the rapier she had earlier, an armband hidden under her shirt on her upper arm. It was meant to be hidden but if you looked hard enough you could tell there was something there. Her glasses firmly where they should be. She had clearly washed her hair, from what Rob and Itzal noticed, it looked cleaner than it did before she left, a bit more fluffy looking. Her clothes were all mens clothes but that was to be expected.

"Does it feel better to be out of that damn jumpsuit? I bet that thing was suffocating." asked Rob, he was glad he didn't know what it felt like to be a prisoner.

"Although it isn't perfect, it'll do." She gave a soft smile, "I prefer mens style of clothing anyway so that's a plus. Something my size as well."

"You look like a marine who's missing a few pieces of their uniform. I think you could pass yourself off as a marine if you really tried too." joked Rob, hard to imagine someone who was dressed in a prisoner jumpsuit could also pull off the _marine_ look.

"Well, better to pass as a marine than a convict right?" retorted Zarina, she was quick to counter.

Itzal decided now was the time to explain what they had planned, "Zarina," he said, gaining her attention, "Right now, we're heading to some unknown island in the middle of the East Blue. We're using a map the marine had and Rob noticed an island on their map that was missing on other world maps he'd seen before. That's the very island we are going to as we speak." explained Itzal, he had hoped she wouldn't react poorly to the idea to heading off to some uncharted island.

Her response surprised them both, "Show me the map. I've seen many government world maps before so I can tell you if there's something wrong." Itzal nodded to her and lead her to the map on the table, Zarina fixed her glasses and examined the map for a few mere moments before speaking, "I've seen this island on maps in the government libraries before, sorry to disappoint you both but this isn't some undiscovered island. It's probably just an island some map makers forget to add. It's more than likely just an average island with some small town or two on it. Nothing special." Zarina told them both, being as blunt and to the point as possible. Itzal didn't seem that bother although he furrowed his brow at the information.

Rob scoffed in slight disappointment before shrugging, "Oh well, doesn't matter. Either way we're heading there to drop you off like we agreed. Then I suggest we find ourselves a new ship Itzal." Itzal turned to Rob as did Zarina. "We can't go running around on a marine battleship forever, it's just too big to use and we don't have the crew to man this ship properly. Besides, this battleship has seen better days." Itzal, Rob and Zarina all glanced around the damaged vessel. He was right, the deck was destroyed in some places, a small hole or two on the hull and the mast wasn't going to need much to be done for. "So once we make land I say we go ship hunting, sound good?"

"Agreed." Itzal smiled to the group, "This'll be my first time browsing for a ship. This should be interesting!"

With that, they all settled down for the small remaining journey to this not so mysterious island. Itzal went off to explore the insides of the battleship. He really wanted to check out this massive ship. Zarina settled into a seating position by the bow of the ship, she stared out to sea a vacant expression across her face. Rob simply found a comfortable standing position, he was going to be steering for a while.

The ship continued to glide across the water, the sun had now set, only the faint orange horizon and the soft light of the moon lit their way across the sea. They were running out of time, if they didn't hit land soon they'd have to stop, it was a tremendously stupid idea to sail through the night. They could sail right past the island if it wasn't properly light up. Rob didn't have problem with it, hell he would have loved to keep sailing through the night, it would have been interesting to see if they made it out alive! However, Zarina wasn't going to die for some _excitement_ and told him off for even suggesting it. Going as far to call him an idiot, which Itzal and Rob found amusing that she blatantly insults a pirate, they had to admit she didn't pull her punches.

After all this sailing, "Land!" yelled Rob from the helm, alerting both Itzal and Zarina causing the both of them to move further toward the bow of the ship to check as well. In front of them was a massive island. It was dark, no signs of light from any part of the island that was visible to them. Through the darkness they could tell the island was covered in dense jungle, the trees far larger than the tallest mast of the ship, a short beach shore separated the sea from the jungle. The ship barreled toward the island, the ship was heading straight toward the shore.

"Finally! It's been so long, time to check out this suspicious island." Itzal leapt onto the main bow cannon of the battleship to scope out the island. The ship continued to plow toward the island at speed.

"Ahh, R.. Rob?" Zarina stammered for a moment, "Aren't we going to slow down?" She was getting nervous now, the ship wasn't slowing down.

"Oh we'll slow right down." said Rob as he calmly stared at the island. "When we crash…" he added. Zarina just gaped at him like he was a moron. "What?!" She yelled, she turned back to the island just as the ship hit the shore. _Hard._

The ship came to an abrupt stop, Zarina was thrown forward from the impact she barely kept herself up straight, stumbling a few feet forward. Rob smacked, chest first, into the helm, the wood creaking under the stress of the impact. The mast creaked horribly under the strain, the wood splintered severely at the base of the mast from coming to such a forced stop. The hull compacted and splintered from running aground, Itzal who stood atop the cannon was flung toward the island. The last either Zarina or Rob saw was him disappear down the front of the battleship. The ship grinded across the sand, beaching itself further up the beach.

Zarina fixed herself and stood straight once more, turing to Rob to tell him off for not even caring about what they were going. She paused for a moment when she saw Rob walking toward her with the wheel of the ship in his hands. Zarina had to admit, his expression was almost unreadable as he stopped beside her.

"Well that was an adventure wasn't it?" Zarina was astonished and irritated at the same time, was that all he really had to say?!

"You okay too Zarina? It was a rough impact, are you hurt anywhere." Rob took a quick scan of her to make sure she was unharmed. "Well?"

"I'm fine but next time try to avoid ramming an island with the ship we're on! That was just stupid!" She scolded Rob, although Rob didn't seem all to bothered by it. He just gave a small smile.

"Itzal! You alright?!" yelled Rob, hoping to get the all clear from Itzal.

"All good!" Itzal yelled back from over the railing of the ship.

"Well, as long as everyone is alright. It's fine." Rob turned to Zarina, "I assume you want to head out now. It's dark but you should be able to find a town of some sort if you follow the coastline."

Zarina moved to the bow of the ship, Rob following behind her. "That would probably be the best plan." As they both looked over the railing to the beach they ran aground on they saw Itzal brushing the sand off his clothes. "It wouldn't be wise to travel through the jungle at night so following the beaches would be the better of the two options."

"Agreed" said Rob as he grabbed Zarina and picked her swifted up. "Rob?!" she shouted right before Rob leapt over the railing and slammed into the ground below, kicking up the sand before placing Zarina back on her feet.

Zarina' secured her glasses and fixed her clothes before responding to Robs actions.

 **Smack!**

Zarina slapped Rob across the back of the head, "Next time ask before you go grabbing me like that, okay?" Although she sounded calm you could still hear the promise of pain if it happened again.

Rob just rubbed the spot where he was hit, "Good hit…" His response only got Zarina to shake her head and a poorly hidden snicker from Itzal.

 **Crunch!**

The group stopped their shenanigans and turned back to the beached battleship. All they saw was the mast had tilted and was now toppling to the side. The entire mast slammed into the water to the right of the ship, kicking up small waves and created ripples in all directions.

"Well that ships not sailing anymore." said Itzal, breaking the silence after the thunderous crash of the mast hitting the water.

"Not like we were going to use the thing anyway." countered Rob, "Doesn't matter to us."

"Well it's been great but I believe I shall be on my way." spoke Zarina quiety, Itzal and Rob both facing her now. "Best of luck with the whole… pirate.. thing I guess. Thanks for putting up with me this whole time, I know it's not easy sometimes." she said the more self-degrading part under her breath but Itzal and Rob still picked up on it.

"You've been great yourself." Itzal countered her self diagnosed critique of herself. "Are you sure you won't consider joining our crew? We think you'd make an fantastic crew mate!" Zarina was rather surprised by how Itzal defended her. Rob did too.

"I agree with Itzal, it'd be great to have you apart of the crew, keep you around. I bet you'd bring a lot to the table too." Rob added to Itzals statement surprising Zarina further, these two just accepted her as she is and like it was nothing. It actually felt rather nice to hear that.

"Thank you both but I'm not a pirate so I'm afraid I can't go with you." Her answer just disappointed her two companions but they recovered quickly and seemed to understand her view.

"Yeah I guess, that's a shame though but it's your life after. You make your own choices." said Rob, he placed both his hands in his pockets. Itzal nodded to his statement.

"Best of luck! Hope we get to see you around." Zarina gave a gentle smile and courteous bow before turning and heading down one end of the beach in search of a settlement of some kind. Itzal and Rob watched her figure slowly distance itself from them.

"Well, time to get going Rob, lets go check this place out. No point standing around." With that Itzal walked off down the beach, the other way Zarina had gone. Although Itzal was probably in search of an adventure of some kind rather than just any old settlement. His curiosity was always the strongest part of his character it seemed.

Rob watched Itzal move down the beach before turning to the direction Zarina had gone. From where he stood he couldn't see her but he could sense her presence due to his observation haki. He then turned his attention to the crippled battleship, looking over its devastated remains.

"Someone will come clean it up… surely." Rob attempted to reassure himself but in the end he failed. Not wanting to let Itzal get to far ahead Rob went to follow him, leaving behind the mess they had made.

* * *

Zarina continued to walk briskly across the beach. She'd only been walking for a minute or so but her nerves were getting to her. "Why did we have to arrive at night, in the pitch black on an island I know nothing about." complained Zarina, she was starting to get a little freaked out.

The rustling of the shrubs nearby caused her to jump slightly from surprise, her hand shot toward her rapier ready to fight if she needed. Quickly scanning over the jungles edge for any sign of movement. When the rustling stopped she deduced it was nothing more than the wind that caused the noise. Even with that rational thought she was still anxious of her surroundings.

Hear mind kicked into _overthink_ mode. She was now coming up with ideas of everything that could go wrong. 'What if this island is was meant to never be visited. What if the world government removed this island from world maps because its inhabitants are dangerous. How would I survive if that were to happen?!' Her thought were slowly creating various situations that would end very poorly for her.

'What about the pirates? Maybe it would have been safer to stay with them for a while longer. Until I at least found somewhere safe to go on my own. I don't even know anyone else outside my home island besides those two.' Zarina quickly rationalized that it would be better off to stick with the pirates for protection. They seemed like decent people on the surface and they did ask for her to join their crew, maybe she could travel with them until she came up with a better plan than to just wander off on some mysterious and possibly dangerous island.

'Nice work Zarina. Wander off to your death. No wonder the marines caught me so quick. I'm brilliant.' She mentally scolded and degraded herself. Not one of her smartest moves she had to admit.

'Well Itzal and Rob probably went the other way up the beach. Maybe if I head back quickly enough I could catch them before anything happens.' Zarina turned and ran back in the direction she'd come from.

'Hopefully they haven't gone to far…' Zarina continued her run back but she had missed the shrubs move as she did. Through the shrubs at the jungles edge two piercing yellows stared out after her retreating figure.

 **Grrrrr**

The shrubs rustled again and the eyes faded back into the jungle from whence it came.

It didn't take long for Zarina to pass the crippled battleship. Even with the night being complete pitch black apart from the soft light of the crescent moon Zarina could still make out the footprints left behind by her two pirate companions.

She slowed her pace to a more manageable jog, even though she had only been running for a minute she still wore herself out a bit. 'I need to get back in shape.' she mentally complained. She was starting to get a stitch from all the running.

Another minute later and finally her two pirate companions came into view. Seeing the both of them Zarina slowed to a walk, contemplating how she should do this. 'Should I really go running back to them for protection? Would they even help me? I did reject their proposal.' She continued to watch them from afar. 'I could just follow them until I get somewhere safe and hope that if I do get into trouble they'll help.'

Meanwhile, with her comrades ahead of her.

"Does she really think we don't know she's there?" asked Rob who kept pace with Itzal.

Itzal shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so. I mean she doesn't know anything about us how would she know we have haki." Itzal defended her. "Should we call her over?"

"Nah, I'm actually finding this rather entertaining!"

"Uhh, are you sure that's a good idea?" Itzal was more concerned about leaving her further behind them. It'd be better if she was with them.

"Nah don't worry about it. I'll keep an eye on her I promise I won't let anything happen to her. I just want to mess with her abit!" Rob grinned at Itzal hoping that was enough for him. "I'd never let anything happen to our crewmates." he added at the end, Itzal smirked.

"Alright. Well I want to go explore the island for a bit. You check out the beach while I take the jungle." Itzals curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

"Sure thing Itzal. I'll keep an eye on Zarina and let you know what I find." With that Itzal and Rob nodded to one another before Itzal turned and dashed into the jungle. He was gone within seconds because of all the foliage that separated the beach and jungle.

Zarina on the other hand just signed when Itzal took off into the forest. From what she had gathered from spending the little time she had with them, she could tell Itzal was a very energetic and curious person so him disappearing into the jungle like that meant he went off to explore. For Itzal that wasn't a problem, him and his first mate had attacked a marine prison transport convoy so he'd be okay in the jungle by himself… hopefully. Now Zarina could only follow Rob, there'd be no way she could keep up with Itzal, she'd be lost in no time flat.

"Well looks like I'm sticking with Rob now." said Zarina, her tone rather disappointed, she didn't mean for it to sound like that it just came out like that.

"Yep! I guess you're stuck with me." laughed a voice to her left.

Zarina screamed and jumped backwards from fright at the sudden appearance of a voice next to her. She gripped her rapier without thinking but before she drew it she recognised the voice almost immediately afterwards. "Don't do that! You scared the daylights out of me!"

It was Rob of course, why wouldn't it be?

Zarina glared at him and slapped him in the arm, "You shouldn't scare me like that!" Zarina continued to scold the pirate.

Rob gave a small laugh, "I know, I'm sorry but I saw an opportunity so I took it."

Zarina signed once more, "Please try to be more serious, I could have tried to strike you if I hadn't recognised your voice."

"Sorry?" said Rob in a rather sheepish manner. "Maybe you shouldn't try to secretly follow us. Deal?" Zarina scowled at him and his response. "Deal." Her response earned a grin from Rob.

"Alright then now that that's out of the way let's get moving. We'll meet up with Itzal at some stage later on. You and I will continue along the beach, sound good?" Zarina responded with a nodded. Together Rob and Zarina walked off down the beach in search of a settlement of some kind.

* * *

Itzal continued to dash through the jungle, none of the shrubs and roots that covered the jungle floor slowed him. The jungle canopy maybe it complete darkness in the jungle, the soft moon light couldn't break through the tall trees. Not many would run blindly through a dense, dark jungle. But Itzal wasn't like most people, he found it invigorating and exciting to be exploring a jungle. Itzal could take care of himself if anything were to rear its ugly head.

After having sprinted through the jungle for a few minutes, heading up a large hill Itzal came up with an idea, 'I should really climb up a tree and scan my surroundings. I bet I'd find a settlement of some kind.' With that thought in mind Itzal searched for a tall tree to climb, with how big all these trees were he could pick any really.

Itzal leapt at a random jungle tree and began to climb, he had no difficulty as he rapidly ascended the tree to the very top. Once at the top Itzal examined the island from above. The entire island was covered in darkness apart from one, massive, area in the centre.

'Is that a…' Itzal narrowed his eyes at what he saw. 'Fortress?' What he saw was best described as a massive compound or fortress that covered the centre of the island. The jungle surrounded the enormous compound making it almost impossible to spot it from sea level despite how it was lit up brighter than anything Itzal had seen before. The fortress was enclosed by a security wall and seemingly had only one entrance. The entrance was a wide river that winded and curved until it hit the sea by the southern half of the island. The only way for people to attack this fortress was through the river or to try and break through the wall. The fortress was built around a large lagoon, ships were docked in the lagoon ranging from small ships to a frigate. Itzal scanned the compound for only a few seconds but one thing caught his eye more than anything. The flag that waved in the night sky atop the largest building in the fortress.

Itzal narrowed his eyes at the flag, "Marines…"

* * *

 **Chapter 3 done. Be gentle please! I don't mean for these to take so long I swear! It's unfortunate that this chapter has no fight scenes but I promise the next chapter will have a few (Hopefully Good) fight scenes.**

 **What did you ladies and gents think of the chapter? Good, Bad or Acceptable? Leave your thoughts in a message or a review and tell me everything you think so far.**

 **Special thanks to SpaceDragon for beta reading the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter… (Chapter 4 - Into the Fire)**


	4. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 4)

**Chapter 4 - Into the Fire**

* * *

Itzal remained perched atop one of the tallest trees, watching the island from the best view point possible. His eyes were still glued to the flags that waved in the wind. The flag of the World Government and the symbol of the _Marines_. Itzal drooped and grabbed at a lower branch and hung from the tree as he observed the fortress. From what he could tell this was the only settlement on the island. The rest of the island looked to be all jungle with one mountain beyond the fortress, towering over the compound.

'A Marine island?' Itzal was slightly confused as to what marines were doing here. 'Rob said that the Marines are so rare in the Blue Seas that they're considered a myth. So how come they have a fortress here? And why is it keep a secret?' Itzal's mind was piecing together what this could mean but he had limited knowledge on the marines as a whole.

'Better take a closer look.' Itzal jumped from the tree top to the ground below. He landed with a resounding _thump_. Itzal glanced to the top of the tree before taking off further into the dark jungle. Whether it was from curiosity or caution, Itzal wanted to check out the fortress.

Itzal run through the jungle for what seemed like an hour, his feet dirtied by how much dirt and mud he ran through but he had no indication of getting anywhere closer to the fortress. He didn't stop running but he could have sworn he passed the same tree more than once now.

'I think I'm lost, great, right when I wanted to investigate that fortress.' Itzal looked around his surroundings, a dark and cold jungle, the light of the moon couldn't pierce through the jungle canopy, a mist had begun to creep in when Itzal had been running but he hadn't noticed until now bringing with it a chilling but gentle wind that caused goose bumps to form on his arms. Itzal finally turned to the starry sky above. 'Maybe I better check where I am.' Itzal made his way to one of the trees in the area that looked the most manageable to climb.

Before he went to climb it Itzal paused, he glanced around his environment, before jumping back and rolled across the ground, as he peeked at the tree he was just stood by a massive log collided with the tree, _**crunch**_ , snapping the base of the tree causing it to fall away from Itzal. Standing straight again Itzal peered around him, the mist now slowly began to thicken.

Itzal stood his ground, he peered through the mist in search of what had hurled such a massive log at him yet he couldn't find anything. The fog was too thick now for Itzal to see deep into the jungle, he could only see a few feet around him but Itzal calmed himself and began to listen. If he couldn't see what it was he'd hear it instead. After a moment Itzal heard it, the thumping on a creature that moved in the mist. He could hear the beast's movements indicating it was a large one as well. Itzal took a linear stance, bringing up both his hands, one cocked back ready to strike while the other was outstretched seemingly following something through the mist.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal punched forward letting lose a blast of high-speed steam that shot through the mist. The result was almost instantaneous.

 **Rawwwrr!**

The roar was one of pain, it was clear as day Itzal had hit his target, whatever that target was. Itzal readied himself the beast was hurt but that didn't mean it was over. The thumping grew louder but the beast still hadn't left the safety of the jungle mist. His stance remained firm, ready to throw a powerful strike when needed but still loose enough for a swift dodge if an attack was to come Itzal's way.

 _Crunch!_ Itzal picked up on the sound of wood snapping and breaking through the mist. Itzal sidestepped right, only by two feet, and dodged another tree trunk that was hurled at him, the trunk itself was thrown more like a javelin in a straight line than just unceremoniously hurled at him.

Itzal wasn't fazed by the tree as he heard it behind him clatter and smash through the trees behind him. 'This is rather pointless' thought Itzal, he knew he wouldn't be hit by one of these _flying_ trees, his speed was far too great for that but he'd be here all day if he just dodged everything and made no attempt at trying to fight. Itzal needed a plan to end this waste of time quickly.

" **Omniscience Liberated!"**

Itzal combined life return and observation abilities to raise all of his senses to a high degree. His plan worked, with the increase in his sense of hearing and touching he could feeling the impact and hearing the thumping of the beast in the mist and it circled him, he picked up the animalistic breathes through the mist. He could almost piece together the shape and size of the beast from the noise and impact it was making.

'There!' Itzal rushed to his left, dashing into the mist, his eyesight had been increased but the mist was just too thick to see through. Itzal relied on this other senses to guide him to his target when he felt a large presence just ahead of him. Itzal overheated his fist and threw his fist forward like a piston. The strike was too quick to be seen by the untrained eye, the fist hit his target.

The beast roared in pain as the large silhouette of the creature was flung back away from the impact zone of Itzal's heated fist, crashing through various trees, causing splinters and shrapnel to be flung in all directions. The silence of the night had been replaced with the thunderous impact of trees hitting the ground and the roar of a beast in pain. The mist had dispersed slightly from the creature being flung back, it had thinned out, enough to seeing much further than before, Itzal cancelled his Omniscience ability, not needing it now.

Although his fist was only in contact with the creature for a second at best Itzal still noticed that he had come into contact with a creature that had fur. Even if he ended up burning that same fur off with the heat of the strike. The creature was also rather beefy, the strike felt as if it had hit something hard like a tough leathery skin.

 **Rawwr!**

Itzal didn't get much time to put thought into it, taking an evasive stance Itzal waited to see what would emerge from the mist. To his surprise, the beast leapt out of the mist higher than anticipated. Itzal pushed backward to evade the slam of the beast.

 **Boom!**

The beast slammed both of its arms into the ground Itzal was just standing on, the ground split under the impact sending chunks of dirt and wood to be thrown into the air.

 **Grrr!**

The beast had was now clear as day, to Itzal's surprise it was a large ape creature. The creature stood at twenty feet tall. The beast towered in height, half the size of the smaller jungle trees. Its fur was mostly white and silver, its skin was dark grey and looked like a tough leather armour. The ape's teeth were jagged and sharp with two of the teeth sticking out like tusks on an elephant.

Itzal noticed just at the base of the creature's ribs was an area of burned and char fur, the skin seemed to be inflamed from the hit. Burnt skin with a small trickle of blood staining the fur below it. Itzal had hurt the beast rather seriously and it was mad.

The beast grunted before charged at Itzal in a fit of rage, Itzal remained in an evasive stance ready for anything it threw at him. As the beast closed in, it started to swing its arms wildly left and right, trying to strike Itzal with everything it had in a mad frenzy.

Itzal, on the other hand remained calm, he just simple dodged each strike. He first crouched low to avoid the hook swing of the ape, he than sidestepped left and avoided an upward swing. The attacks after were basically a repeat of this cycle. No swing made contact with Itzal, the ape's movements were too predictable and slow compared to Itzal who wasn't putting much effort into it.

The ape roared once more finally having enough with being unable to hit Itzal. The beast lifted both its arms up into the air, standing tall and prepared to slam the ground where Itzal stood. The ape standing straight like this and its arms up easily made it thirty feet tall, its massive frame covered Itzal in its shadow.

This was Itzal's chance, the beast had left itself vulnerable to an attack. Itzal saw this opportunity and took it. Faster than the eye could Itzal crouched low in his stance, produced small heat jets of steam and propelled himself upward. Itzal swung his heated fist upward catching the ape with a fierce uppercut. Blood spilled from the jaw of the ape before he grabbed a hold of the beast by the skin. Itzal flipped over the ape, still holding onto the ape before swinging it over his head and slamming the ape into the ground head first.

The impact shook the ground and caused a crater to form from the force. Itzal stepped back away and watched the ape. Laying in the crater was the beast. A small trickle of blood ran down its forehead, its body just at the base of its ribs also bleed slightly. Burned, charred and inflamed skin around the wound, another wound also formed on its jaw from where Itzal had uppercut the creature similar to the one by its ribs. The ape had been knocked unconscious from Itzal's strike, the beast lay unmoving in the crater.

'What the hell is an ape like this doing on this island? Do the marines know these things are on the island?' Itzal sighed before turning to leave, 'I'll figure that out later, I want to investigate that fortress.' Itzal glanced around to find the tallest tree to climb to try and orientate himself and locate the direction the fortress was in but before he could he heard rustling nearby.

Itzal turned back to the scene of the fight with the ape only to see through the mist over a dozen of yellow beastly eyes staring back him. Eyes that were exactly the same to the ape he had just beaten. The ape Itzal just beat wasn't alone it seemed.

Itzal just stared back at the eyes in the mist thinking to himself, 'So the ape was apart of a group.' Itzal paused for a moment, 'Group? Or is it a pack? What do you call a group of ape's anyway? I don't think it's a pack of ape's.' Itzal shrugged his shoulders, 'I'll ask Zarina when I see her.'

Just as he finished his thoughts another ape charged Itzal from the mist. Itzal just blinked at the creature before getting into his evasive stance once more ready to take on the rest of the ape's group. Group? Pack? Whatever.

* * *

Rob and Zarina had been walking along the beaches of the island for sometime now and still hadn't found anything to even indicate that there was a settlement on the island. It had been a while back since they both saw Itzal disappear into the dense jungle and they had heard no sign on him coming back, all Itzal and Rob had agreed on was they'd see each other later which wasn't much of a plan to begin with.

Rob just continued to walk along the beach, keeping an eye out for any signs of a settlement but overall didn't seem all that bothered about their current situation. Zarina on the other hand was thinking of many different situations that could play out on this island. Although she could go on Zarina was curious as to find out what Rob was thinking right now. She turned to face him as they walked side by side.

"Rob," Zarina spoke calmly, Rob turning his head to her, "Do you have any plan to get off this island? It's not like you or Itzal have another ship to jump aboard if there turns out to be nothing of interest on this island." Zarina folded her arms as they walked along the beach.

Rob laughed softly, "I personally don't have a plan and I doubt Itzal has one either." Rob scratched his chin, she had a point, what were they going to do?

"For pirates who are going to be sailing about the seas you both don't even have a plan on how you're going to acquire a ship? So what? You're both going to be famous _shipless_ _pirates_ then?" A snarky comment slipped through her lips without Zarina realizing, luckily she has come to realize neither Itzal or Rob don't mind it.

"Well to be fair, Itzal and I only became pirates about three days ago. We haven't exactly made any plans." Rob defended himself, although it was a poor defense that Zarina could easily rip through.

"What kind of pirate needs a plan to get a ship of their own? I think it would rank pretty high on a list of priorities for a beginning pirate crew." Zarina continued to berate Rob as they continued their search, it wasn't out of cruelty or anything, more so of just her being nervous. This was the first island she had ever been on that wasn't her home island and it wasn't exactly the best circumstances either. All she was trying to do was creating an environment for herself to ease her nerves and worries. Thankfully Rob seemed to pick up on it and was completely fine with her doing this, even if he was being somewhat scolded, anything to help right?

"I suppose you're right on that." He grinned at Zarina, "I'll figure something, Itzal knows that we'll need a permanent ship to call our own." Rob paused the conversation for a moment to think, "Say, want to come up with ideas for a ship name?"

Zarina looked him in the eyes to see if he was joking, "Seriously? We're in the middle of searching for a settlement and to each find our own way off this island and you'd rather think up a name for a ship you haven't even gotten yet?" Zarina waited for his response to her argument but it wasn't exactly what she had been expecting.

"Oh and we'll need to design a flag, something to symbolize the _Sky Pirates!_ Any ideas you care to share?" Rob glanced over to Zarina and all she could see was his cheeky grin plastered across his face. He was doing this on purpose.

With an exaggerated sigh Zarina quit her protests dropping her arms to her sides, "How about a Skull with black hair but instead of the cross bones you have wings?"

Rob threw his hands behind his head and stretched for a moment. "That's the spirit." He chuckled to himself, Zarina shook her head but she had to admit it was also somewhat amusing to talk about.

Rob and Zarina continued to discuss various ideas for a name and a flag, much to Zarina's protests on staying more focused on the task at hand she found herself drawn into the conversation. Once she starts something it's hard for her to leave it finished, she'd be damned if she didn't come up with something. This is how it went for a while as they continued along the coastline. The conversation made the time go by quicker so it wasn't all dull but it was getting to the point where there might now be a settlement of some kind.

After some time had passed and a few ideas shared, such as a shark or sea king as a figure head. The symbolism meaning _king of the sea_ , comparable to Itzal as _king of the pirates_. Another idea for the flag being a skull and crossbones with roses wrapped around the bones but in the end it would be Itzal that decides all this, the ship would belong to the captain after all.

"I'll have to share all these ideas with Itzal, I'm sure he'd love some of them." Rob had only come up with the sea king idea, he was more impressed by how Zarina put more effort into that than necessary. She was certainly a perfectionist.

Zarina's nerves had calmed from before, she hadn't really noticed once she enthralled herself, once she has decided to do anything her mind goes at it one hundred percent. "Indeed, it should be Itzal that makes the final say on your flag and ship name. He is your captain so it's only logical."

The two continued to walk, having been distracted by the conversation they hadn't comprehended how far along the coast they had walked. Rob took notice of an opening ahead.

"Oi Zarina, look." Zarina looked straight ahead, fixing her glasses, dazed into the darkness ahead of them. What they saw was an opening into the jungle in the form of a large river leading into the depths of the misty, dark jungle.

Rob was about to say something until he sensed the presence of people nearby. Without a word he grabbed Zarina and dragged her to the treeline and pulled her behind a tree, where they both hid.

Although Zarina didn't feel threatened by Rob she wasn't all too happy about being dragged around like a rag doll. "What was that for?" Zarinas tone was somewhat passive aggressive, one Rob took as _better have a good reason for that_.

However, this wasn't the time for that, Rob placed a finger over his lips to quiet Zarina. Zarina quickly quieted down and waited for what Rob was doing. He peered out from around the tree and stared out to sea. Zarina peered out the same way Rob was looking, at first she saw nothing but she barely caught sight of a ship. She was amazed a ship could be so invisible like this one was. The ship was heading directly toward the mouth of the river.

The fact a ship was sailing as it was is rather strange. For one, why is the ship heading up the river? Why was the ship not lit up? A ship the size of this one would usually have lights on it, if not for other ships to take notice, it would be for the crew to see where they were heading. And why was Rob hiding from the view of such a ship? She had quickly come to realize that both Itzal and Rob were exceptional fighters, they had the strength to go up against a prison convey and come out relatively unharmed.

"What's wrong? Is it the ship?" Rob took a moment before replying to her, his gaze not leaving the ship as it reached the mouth of the river and was slowly heading into the jungle.

"There is only one reason why a ship wouldn't have lights to signal its whereabouts, and that's if it wants to be invisible. Hidden. They don't want to be followed, meaning wherever that ship is going they don't want anyone else to know about it." spoke Rob in a cautious sounding tone, not something you'd hear from Rob if knew him well enough. Rob stepped out from behind the tree and moved to the mouth of the river and looked further down the river and saw the ship, although it slowed dramatically once it entered the river.

"I've seen many ships dock at my home island over the years. Plenty of them have not had any signals lights on. Some ships don't need it, others just don't want to be seen." Zarina explained, "They could just not want to draw attention to themselves as they stop off for the night."

Rob smiled before turning to Zarina who stared at him rather confused why he was smiling so suddenly. "Let's follow them. I bet it will lead somewhere entertaining."

Zarina couldn't believe this man, one moment he had them hide from view of the ship the next he wanted them to follow to wherever the hell they were going, however, Zarina knew there wasn't much of a choice here. She was going to stick with either Itzal or Rob until they found a settlement and since Itzal is fuck knows where at this point. If Rob was going, she was too.

Zarina rested one hand on her rapier and pinched her nose with the other. "You really are a pirate aren't you?" Rob simply shrugged before turning to head along the shore of the river. 'Why do I feel like this is going to lead us into trouble?' She glanced over to Rob as he moved slowly only the shore as not to leave Zarina behind. 'As long as I travel with Itzal or Rob I feel like trouble will be a normal part of my life.' She sighed before picking up her pace to catch up to Rob.

The ship was moving very slowly, clearly not wanting to run aground as they navigated the river. It just made it easier to tail the ship from behind since it couldn't put any real distance between each other.

"Rob," Zarina called over to Rob, who was slightly ahead of her making a route for Zarina to follow behind him. When she got a hum of acknowledgment she continued, "Any idea what we might find? As well as what exactly will be awaiting us? And why the need for secrecy?" The jungle foliage was dense

Zarina was asking the right questions, however, "I have no idea." His response was rather lacking. Zarina didn't even bother to react, she almost expected that half ass answer.

"Why am I not surprised." She muttered mostly to herself, Rob laughed slightly so she knew he had heard her.

"So the potential of illegal smuggling, slave trafficking or otherwise horrid and secret-worth activities didn't cross _your_ mind?" Zarina quickly listed off but a few theories as to what this ship might be involved in. Mostly criminal ones came to mind.

"Nope." She sighs at his ignorant response.

"Well do you at least have a plan if this goes sideways? If their pirates what will we do?"

"Well we'll have to find out before we start making a plan. No point stressing over something that might not come to pass." His answer didn't exactly spark much faith in what they were doing. "But I will say that the ship didn't seem to have any exterior markings to indicate it being pirates or marines. The ship itself looked more like one you'd see with civilians but that is meaningless."

Zarina waded her way through the jungle shrubs following close behind Rob who continued to tear through the jungle foliage making a path for them to follow. She thought back to the moment she saw the ship. 'No obvious markings but…' Than she realized something, "You're right about no obvious markings but the ship was armed. I could have sworn I see the glint of moonlight shining off a cannon of some kind."

"Ay, I saw it too. Which means we're not dealing with some random island settlers. So your guess is as good as mine as to who we're dealing with." Rob continued to trapple the foliage making a path for Zarina. He kept one eye on the ship at all times, his sense of adventure guided him. He wasn't losing this ship.

Zarina went quiet, she began to ponder various plans for what they'd come across. The short time that followed passed in relative silence, other than the sound of their footsteps crunching across the dirt and branches of the jungle floor and Rob forging a path for them as quietly as possible.

Zarina was about to say something when she was cut off by Rob, "Oi Zarina, look." Zarina lifted her head up slowly, drawing herself from her thoughts and looked passed Rob and before her stood a massive fortress. From their view on the riverbank they had clear view into the fortress from the opening the ships used to come and go, further inside the complex were small lookout towers dotted sporadically across the grounds. Walls stretched all around the complex, a large lagoon was located in the centre. Numerous ships docked at various docks around the lagoon. Ships ranging from briggs to frigates all of which were well looked after and not to mention armed, some of them very heavily. The walls of the fortress towered over most of the buildings in the complex. Spotlights litter the walls at regular intervals watching the jungle that surrounded it.

But what caught their attention the most, was the flags that swung atop the largest building in the complex.

"Marines."

"The World Government."

Rob and Zarina both spoke at the same time, turning to each other.

"So it's a marine facility than." said Rob, beginning the conversation. "I gotta admit it was rather obvious now that I think about it."

Zarina nodded in agreement, "You're right, it was rather obvious. I just wish I had seen it coming!" Zarina vented slightly, she didn't like how she could read into the clues and discover what this island was before they got here. She was rather frustrated.

"Well, what do you say we take a closer look?" suggested Rob, Zarina just blinked at him before speaking.

"Well if we're going in there, the best way would be…" Zarina paused for moment. "Wait! Why the hell am I helping you sneak in!" Zarina, in what could be described as a quiet scream, said toward Rob, her gaze was that of a small glare. One which Rob didn't find the least bit intimidating.

Rob smiled cheekily at her, "That was your own doing not mine, besides your along for the ride might as well help out right?" He gave her a thumbs up, Zarina dropped her head in frustration, "But what was this plan of yours, I'd very much like to hear it."

"Simple, get close to the wall, dodging the spotlights of course, and shimmy our way around the opening on the river and make our way to the building on the opposite side." Zarina said without lifting her head. She raised her hands and rubbed her temples in an effort to ease the mounting frustration. "The building on the other side looks to not be in any major view of lookout towers, it would be our best bet of hiding inside."

Rob glanced over to the building in question, Zarina was right. The building was slightly looked over by a larger building. Blocking it from view of any lookout post. The building wasn't lit up very much either and was in the shadow of the larger building, it would be easy to sneak in there undetected.

Rob glanced over the surroundings once more before speaking to Zarina, "Well, are you coming or not?"

"Do I have much of a choice right now?" Her response got a small laugh from Rob.

"Nope." Zarina didn't even hear his response, she already knew what his answer would be. It wasn't particularly hard. Zarina stood up, as did Rob, and readied herself to dash to the wall on Robs signal.

"Now!"

A basic _signal_ but never the less an effective one. Both Zarina and Rob quickly dashed forward to the wall from the treeline. The spotlights where as far apart as they could be so it was the best opportunity they had. With _very_ little effort they both made it to the wall and quickly shimmied their way around the wall edge, making sure not to fall into the water and alert anyone nearby.

Rob went first and basically swung his way around the edge with no effort. Zarina, on the other hand took her time, extremely careful not to fall in. But her caution failed her and the dirt she stepped on fell from under her feet. Her heart rate picked up considerably once her mind realized she was going into the water. Just as she was about to lose her footing Zarina felt a hand grab hers. She looked over and saw Rob had caught her. Without a seconds delay he pulled her over onto solid ground. Without a word Zarina nodded a _thank you_ over to him and the two quickly and silently made their way over to the smaller building.

As they approached the door Zarina knew the door would be locked and glanced around to see if she could find another opening. Her idea was a more sneaky approach was smashed once she heard the crash of metal shards hitting a concrete floor. She looked back to Rob and saw he had kicked the reinforced door to pieces and had already stepped inside.

Zarina sweat dropped at his choice of infiltration, "They'd never know he was here." She muttered to herself, stepping in behind Rob. Zarina had to ask herself, 'This isn't going to go smoothly is?'

* * *

 **And this chapter is done! Took longer than I expected, I had a few personal issues to deal with which took up sometime as well as at one point I struggled to put words on the page to describe what I wanted. I ended up writing a part and than rewriting it again because I felt like it didn't express the idea I wanted to convey to you. (The Readers)**

 **And I got other projects in the works. (Two of which are SYOCs, so feel free to message me and I'll give you the details.) (I know people love their SYOCs)**

 **Those are my excuses, forgive me please! Be gentle!**

 **However I do have something fun for yous to do. See how I mentioned the flag, ship figurehead and ship name? Well here's the chance to think up something fun for the story. Leave a suggest as to what** _ **you**_ **want them to be. You ladies and gents get to (If you want to / are bothered to) design the crews flag, decide the figurehead of the ship as well as the final name of the ship. Just thought I'd give yous the chance because it won't be long before the crew gets their ship.**

 **One thing I've learned is that I seriously underestimate how much I can do in one chapter. I'd planned to have a lot more than in this chapter but it ended up slowly than I thought it would be all because I don't want to make the story seem rushed. I planned to wrap this arc up and move on but that won't happen now.**

 **What did you ladies and gents think of the chapter? Good, Bad or Acceptable? Leave your thoughts in a message or a review and tell me everything you think so far. And I also wanted to get your opinion on the 'pacing' of the story. Am I going to slow? Too Fast? Let me know because I can try to figure out the best pacing so I'm not leaving everyone waiting.**

 **Special thanks to SpaceDragon for beta reading the chapter! You Da Best!**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	5. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 5)

**Chapter 5 - Sneaky my ass…**

* * *

Zarina followed behind Rob, careful not to stand on any of the _debris_ that littered the floor. The room they entered was dark and rather cold for some reason, her breath created mist every time she exhaled. Goose bumps formed on her forearms. Zarina had noticed that the building wasn't guarded in any form, meaning the contents of the building were of little value to the marines.

A moment later, Zarinas eyes adjusted to the darkness. The first thing she saw was Rob standing a foot away to her right. He had already busted open a crate and was rooting around inside it. Zarina glanced around the room, giving it a once over. She assumed Rob had done the same when he entered but he seemed to deem it fine and swiftly moved over to a crate.

The room was square in shape, more cube like if you look at it. There were small lanes to walk between massive stacked crates. The crates were stacked to the roof blocking some of the windows, that were along two sides of the room, making it difficult for light to illuminate the room in a decent manner. After her inspection of the room Zarina turned back toward Rob.

Zarina just watched him carelessly root through the crate, not caring for the noise he was making, which was a considerable amount. "You really are a pirate aren't you? Can't help but steal anything that isn't nailed down." She couldn't help but repeat the, rhetorical, question again. To which Rob only replied with a nonchalant "Yep."

Since Zarina expected such an answer she moved on quickly, "So, what exactly are we doing in this place to begin with?" She asked, Rob stops rooting around the crate and pulls out a pair of red apples, tossing one to Zarina. The crate must have been full of food. She caught the apple and examined it while waiting for a response.

"Well, I admit I had no idea what exactly we were going to do when we got here..." Zarina subtly rolled her eyes at his lack of a plan, "But since we're here, I say we gather some supplies and take one of their ships. After all, we need one if we're going to get off this island."

Zarina nodded in agreement, "I agree, we do need a ship, but you choose to commandeer a Marine owned vessel?" Zarina was rather skeptical of the idea, she could think of a few reasons why this could go poorly and a few ideas as to what this plan might need to succeed. "Well, for one, it's only us both and Itzal that will be able to man this hypothetical ship so we'll need something of reasonable size. Two, we're going to need one that is ready to sail at this moment because we can't waste time preparing a ship while being assaulted by the Marines."

"Well, that's only if we get caught." said Rob which got Zarina to give him a flat deadpan look.

"Like I said, we can't set sail while under attack from the Marines stationed here." Zarina had made it clear that she _knew_ they were going to be caught at some stage. She didn't bother to consider the 0.01% chance they could actually successfully sneak through the compound undetected.

Rob remained silent for a moment, before finally saying "I suppose you're right." Rob took a bite out the apple as he leapt up to sit on the crate he found it in, there was another pause while he ate it.

"Well?" said Zarina expectantly. Waiting to hear what Rob had planned, which she was suspicious that he had none.

"Well, what?" was all Rob replied with, taking another bite of the apple..

"You don't have a plan on how to get this ship do you?" asked Zarina calmly but once again already knowing the answer. She was just being polite and giving Rob a chance to defend himself or even surprise her.

"Do I need one?" Stupid response but it's the one she got.

"It would help." She said wryly, Rob scratched the side of his head, he was trying to come up with a plan to, at least, give Zarina something to work with but that wasn't easy. Rob was always better at improvising and adapting on the fly in a moments notice. Plans aren't exactly his forte. Even when he was young he was like that. The only thing he ever really planned for his training schedule and that wasn't exactly a plan like he needs now.

"How about we move closer to the docks the marines have set up in here, I'm sure we can find a good vantage point. We'll scope out the ships they have and figure out which one to take. From there we go find Itzal and tell him the plan before we _commandeer_ the ship." Rob explained his _very_ basic plan. "Oh, and we gather supplies too before leaving so we can travel for some time without needing a supply stop, should give us some breathing room from the Marines if they decide to give chase." He added to the end. "How's that?"

Zarina thoroughly polished the apple with her shirt before giving her thoughts on the plan. "Basic but workable I suppose." She replied, idly as she thought over the basic plan.

Rob released a small breathe without her noticing. "We'll need to figure out where the supplies we need are stored." said Rob, glad his _plan_ was enough for Zarina.

Zarina stopped and gestured around the room they were in. "We're clearly in a supply building right now. I'd hazard a guess that it's mainly food in here due to how cold it is. They're clearly keeping the food _on ice_ so to speak."

Rob nodded in agreement, they could get their hands on some food but there was more than they'd need if they were going to set sail again. "Since we can just grab a bag and fill it with food that has a longer expiration date, food isn't an issue. No, what we _really_ need is some navigational tools and maps." Rob smiled somewhat sheepishly, "Because if you rely on me for that I'll get us lost."

Zarinas lips twitched upward into a small smirk, "At least you're honest about it." Rob smirked as well and shrugged his shoulders. "Do you have an idea where we can find these navigational instruments? It's a large facility after all, we have a lot of ground to cover if we don't have at least a small inclination on where to begin."

"No idea but I'm up for a trip around the place. It'll be interesting to see what they have around here." Rob leapt from his seat atop a crate and made his way down one of the lanes to the other side of the building they had entered through.

"And you're just going to wander freely around a Marine facility how exactly?" Rob continued to walk toward the other side of the warehouse, Zarina following behind with a rather skeptical look on her face.

Rob didn't seem all that worried, "Well, I'm not exactly the sneakiest of people." Zarina muttered under her breath, "Yeah, no kidding," before Rob continued, "So I'm just going to wander around and if anyone spots me I'll just smack them around and hide the evidence as I go."

Zarina just continued to follow behind, she wasn't going to attempt to talk him out of it, what would be the point? Not like Rob would listen given the current situation. "I've only known you a day and I'm already done with your antics." murmured Zarina, she felt the need to say it out loud to herself. Luckily, Rob didn't hear or just didn't care. Although she wouldn't admit it, Itzal and Rob could certainly make things interesting if they tried.

As they reached the other end of the Rob clenched his fist and punched the door. This time however he was more _surgical_ in his strike. He punched a hole through the reinforced iron where the lock mechanism would be.

It was still a loud strike, one that could draw attention but this wouldn't leave as much evidence as the _shattered remnants_ of the other door would. Rob reach through the hole and pulled the door open, standing to the side as he did.

He grinned at Zarina, "Ladies first." Giving a small bow of the head as he did. Zarina just folded her arms and smirked in amusement.

"A pirate with manners are we?" Rob simply shrugged at the question before stepping out ahead of Zarina. In all seriousness he didn't want Zarina to step into trouble so he'd be on-point for this one.

Before Zarina stepped out too she took a deep breath and rubbed her arm for reassurance, although she had remained rather calm this entire time her nerves were starting to act up on her. She was way too far out of her comfort zone. She never would have thought she'd be breaking into a marine facility to raid it for supplies alongside pirates. Hell, she never thought she'd leave her home island but look at her now. A _convicted_ , that word being used loosely, criminal on the run from the marines. If she was caught she'd be in prison for a lifetime and then some. Her thoughts could only find all the ways this could go poorly. From them being captured and what would happen to them or the marines not taking any prisoners due to them knowing too much. It was hard to say with absolute certainty what would happen but nothing good would come about it they failed and subsequently caught. Walking around with Rob through the jungle she had been distracted by everything that was happening around her, focusing on the now. The island itself, the ship appearing from the darkness and, of course, the fortress. Zarina had no time to sit and think but know that she had a moment, she began to feel regret about coming here.

She looked out the door Rob just stepped through. She was relying on pirates for protection. Was that really such a good move? Sure, both Itzal and Rob seemed to be good on the surface but at the same time they were pirates. They were going to be committing crimes as pirates, why was she travelling with them? Why was she joining them in their antics? It was odd, Zarina didn't mind their antics or being dragged into it with them but she feared the consequences. Would they stick their neck out for her if everything went wrong? She wasn't sure. But for now, they were her only option.

"Hey Zarina, you coming?" asked Rob in a somewhat hushed manner. He peered back through the door. "Something wrong?"

Zarina had quickly recomposed herself and stepped into the door frame, she put on her best _customer service_ face. "Sorry, I thought I heard something, it was nothing." She stepped past him into the shadow of the much larger building that stood beside the warehouse.

Rob just remained stoic as he kept an eye on her movements. As a bounty hunter he had picked up some valuable skills. One was knowing when someone was bullshitting him. Zarina was lying and he knew it, but Rob also learned to never show the fact you saw through their deception. Rob wouldn't push it however. Zarina seemed trustworthy and he wouldn't want to pry into something he shouldn't. He'd let this one slide, for now.

"So, where do we start?" Zarina peered out from the shadow of the building and looked around the complex. "There are a few places that could be a good place to start. So which one?" She turned toward Robs direction but didn't look him in the face. Probably so he wouldn't get the clearest view of her face.

Rob remain silent for a moment, not to consider where to start but to make a quick mental note to talk to Zarina later. "We should start with buildings on this side of the lagoon." said Rob, stepping to the edge of the shadow to look over the compound. "But if we're lucky maybe the navigational instruments we're looking for are stored near the ships for ease of movement."

Zarina nodded in agreement, "Let's get going shall we?" She paused for a moment, "And _try_ not to be seen, hm?" When she didn't get an answer she turned to Rob. He looked rather stoic from what she could see of his face. "Rob?" She asked louder, Rob glanced her way, "Something wrong?"

"Nah!" He grinned, "Just thought of something fun to do." Zarina could tell that was only half the truth. But even that being half the truth, she dreaded what _fun_ Rob had in mind in a marine base.

"Fine, but promise not to make a scene?" She asked again, hoping he'd at least be cautious given the situation they'd found themselves in.

"Don't make promises you can't keep! Sorry!" Rob walked out of the shadow and along the front of the building they had just been in the shadow of.

"Great." Zarina muttered before she slowly, and far more cautiously, followed Rob.

* * *

In the darkness atop the buildings, two figures were crouched and leaning over the edge, peering down below them, observing everything that had transpired.

"See? I told you I heard some form of commotion." Two figures in the darkness of the night had found themselves on a rooftop.

"Interesting duo." A squeaky voice spoke, a small chuckle was heard right after. It was the same person. "Never thought we'd see anyone appear on this island… _again._ " The shadowy figure turned to a much larger figure.

"Agreed, my brother. This is truly an odd and rare occasion." His voice much more gruff and deep than his counterpart. "I wonder how this was not discovered until now." His voice showing genuine curiosity at the feat. His companion wasn't as interested however.

"Who knows?" The smaller figure squeaked out, "They're both brave and foolish to be here. I must admit they're _courageous_ for entering a marine base _knowingly._ " He did a small flip on the spot. "Maybe we should get to know them better, ahahah."

"Negative." The larger figures voice was a bit harsher than before, clearly not wanting to leave room for argument. "We should inform the _Commander_ , he'll want to know more. If he doesn't already know."

The smaller figure merely grumbled, "Of course he knows, why wouldn't he?!" His voice was whiny and annoying, although the larger figure didn't seem as bothered as others would more than likely be. He mumbled at the end, "No fun…"

"Forgive me, brother, but I wish to have the Commander lead us on this." The large figure peered at the corner the two they were observing disappeared. "They seem different." The larger figure seemed to be deep in thought, "They are different. I do not wish to underestimate them."

The smaller one grumbled again, "Fine, let us tell the _Commander_." With that, the smaller figure climbed onto the back of the larger one. The larger figured leapt from the building to another and continued on further into the fortress toward the main command building, disappearing into the darkness of night.

* * *

Itzal stood among a destroyed clearing of the jungle. Around him was the devastation of his _brawl_ with an aggressive and intelligent ape species. Toppled jungle trees, wood splinters littered the ground, barely able to see the ground below it, smoke and dust still swirled in the area around the battle zone.

Itzal was located in the dead centre of this devastation. He inspected the carnage he and the ape group had created. Group? Pack? Whatever.

Small whimpers and groans could be heard among the rubble and debris of the battle zone. The ape creatures lay sprawled across the ground, there had to be two dozen at the _very least_.

All the apes sported similar wounds. Charred fur, inflamed and burnt skin, more than likely cracked, fractured or broke some bones too. They were _all_ in a poor state, except of course Itzal. Who looked completely fine. The only sign of effort was a single bead of sweat on his forehead but other than that. Nothing.

' _Where did they all come from? And why attack now of all time?'_ Itzal was trying to comprehend why this attack seemed _calculated_ to a degree. _'I've been in the jungle for awhile but they attack me as soon as I locate the fortress? That is one hell of a coincidence.'_ Itzal sighed, "No point wasting anymore time around here I suppose. I better take a look at the fortress." He spoke to himself. Itzals blood pumped through his veins for the adventure ahead, that insatiable curiosity was going to be a blessing and a curse sooner or later, if it wasn't already.

Itzal gazed in the direction he _knew_ the fortress was. _'I wonder if Rob and Zarina have located anything or if they located the fortress themselves.'_ He had faith that they'd be okay but was still curious and worried as to where they might be. Not wasting anymore time Itzal began the long sprint toward the fortress, he'd meet up with them at some stage. He'd been distracted long enough know, he was determined to find out what this fortress was all about.

As Itzal began to disappear into the jungle a small rustling of leaves occurred in the treetops above the battleground. The cause of the rustling soon leapt from its hidden vantage point and landed on a tree branch.

It was a small monkey like creature. White fur with dark rough skin, yellow eyes and a long thin tail. The monkey only stood at knee height and was the _least_ intimidating thing in the jungle. In fact, it looked rather friendly. The monkey gazed after Itzal seeing his retreating figure.

"Chi-Chi." The little monkey squeaked out, it tilted its head as it gazed at Itzal, clearly confused and curious about him. The little monkey quickly leapt from the branch it was perched on before disappearing in the canopy.

Back with Itzal, he was sprinting through the jungle with little to no effort. Any obstacles that might have appeared on Itzals path was quickly passed. Whether leaping over gaps and trenches or running along fallen trees for easier movement, nothing on his path would slow Itzal.

The night was still relatively young, it would be another few hours before sunrise. From what Itzal could see earlier as he scoped out the landscape, this fortress might be the only human settlement on the island. If they were getting off this island, they'd have to get a ship and this could be the only place to do it. Through the Marines.

Itzal was considering a few possibilities but suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked directly across a small clearing in the jungle, burnt ground surrounded the wall on this side. There stood the fortress wall, towering over the tops of the jungle trees. Spotlights periodically scanned the clearing and tree line. Itzal moved to hide behind a tree, peering around the wall. He didn't want to be spotted, yet.

Watching the lights move across Itzal spotted an opening for him to get across undetected. Taking his chance he dashed across the clearing. He was a blur with how quickly he moved. Even if he was caught in the light, anyone that might have caught sight of him would probably think they were seeing things.

Itzal made it across the clearing and leaned against the wall, looking above him to see if anyone was above him. He couldn't sense many people atop the wall. At most there was two located at each spotlight. Itzal thought one of them was the spotter the other would be the sniper. He wasn't certain but it was a reasonable guess.

" **Vulcan Prayer!"**

Itzals body began to heat up drastically. Steam began to form from his body and a small amount of light was created. Itzal looked at his hands before making the temperature in his hands skyrocket. He placed his hands on the wall, as he had hoped the wall began to melt where his hands where. After dragging his across the wall he had made the outline of the hole before pushing the rest of the wall out of the way as quickly but silently as possible, revealing a clear way into the fortress grounds. Itzal smiled to himself, 'That wasn't so hard.'

Not wanting to stand in the open any longer Itzal charged through the hole and swiftly dashed toward a building. This one seemed alright from what he could tell, it wasn't one located in the larger main area of the facility.

As he reached the door, Itzal quickly melted the locking mechanism before throwing open the door and rapidly slamming it behind him and then bashed the door shut with his shoulder to confirm it was shut as best as possible.

"Alright, now where to begin…" Itzal turned from the door and looked toward the room before coming to an abrupt stop. He just stared at the contents of the room for a moment. Realizing his current situation.

There, stood in the room, that was a small kitchen or dining area, were fourteen marines, in standard marine uniform, apart from two, armed with swords on their hips and a pistol in their holsters. They were all staring directly at Itzal, all of them had some form of surprise, shock or disbelief written across their faces. Both Itzal and the Marines just stared at each other. Unblinking, unmoving, just watching. A _very_ awkward silence had descended on the room.

Itzal, poorly, decided to speak, "Uh, hi!"

 _ **Bad move.**_

"Get him!" One of them yelled. Drawing his sword and charging Itzal, followed by at least eleven of the others. One of the more uniquely dress marines lead the charge against Itzal.

' _Damn'_ Was all that came to mind at this moment. As the first Marine closed in, merely three feet away, Itzal skipped forward a step and landed a fierce kill to his stomach sending the marine crashing through two of his buddies and into the wall behind the group. His head slumped showing he was down for awhile.

The two that had been knocked over were getting back up as the others closed in. The first one went for an overhead swing but missed as Itzal shifted left and elbowed him in the face with a lot of force, he face slammed into the ground from the strike. The ground might have even cracked from the impact. He was down as well, two dealt with already.

Four other marines went for a strike all at once but Itzal swiftly backpedaled making it so they all swung at air or hit the ground, missing Itzal completely. Not wasting a moment he counter-attacked.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal formed a small pocket of heat and fired it toward the group of four. As it hit the centre man in the chest, sending him crashing backwards across the ground, the other three were launched in different directions. One slid across the floor and into a wall head first. The other two were launched into a table, smashing through it and shattering the wood as they landed on it.

Another two closed the distance after dodging their comrades being flung in random directions. One in front of the other. The first of the two went for a lunge but Itzal sidestepped it and kneed the marine in the face. The marine stood up and leaned back from the strike, dropping his sword and clutching at his possibly fractured nose. Itzal then leapt off the ground slightly and kicked the same guy in the chest with a bit of power behind it. The guy was thrown backwards into his buddy behind him with an impressive amount of speed and force. They seemed to be both knocked to the floor and knocked unconscious at the same time.

Itzal was rather surprised, _'This is.. A bit easy…'_ He thought to himself before turning to face his next assaultant. The next attacks came from both sides of Itzal, both swung at roughly the same time. Itzal ducked the swords, he could feel the rush of the swords pass overhead. Itzal turned to the one of his right and gave him an uppercut to the jaw. The marine slammed into the roof from the strike and came crashing back down to the ground, landing with a _thump._

Turning to face the other one he saw he was already mid swing of his sword. Itzal slide forward and closed the space between them and caught his arm mid swing. The marine looked at Itzal with surprise. He wasn't expecting to have been blocked like this. Pushing the sword arm away, he grabbed a hold of the marine by the shoulder and hip, twisting his body Itzal dragged him backwards off his feet and threw the man across the room into the reinforced door he had just come through. Quickly rendering him out of the fight too. That made ten.

The last two that had charged Itzal were the ones that had been knocked over. They quickly went for Itzal as well, clearly not discouraged by their comrades failed attempts. Itzal widened his stance ready for them both. One of them went for a side swing, the other went for an overhead. Itzal quickly caught the arm holding the sword that was going for the overhead swing and kicked the sword from the side clean out the marines hands. Both marines looked rather nervous now.

The disarmed marine received a quick and powerful punch to the face which caused him to land face first on the ground. Throwing the sword from his hand Itzal once again leapt off the ground and delivered a flying knee to the marines face, which caused the marine to fall backwards clutching his face.

Waiting a moment, all that could be heard was the groaning and whimpers of the men laid out before him. Until a click broke that rhythm. Knowing what it was Itzal tilted his head to the right in time for a bullet to pass through where it once was, he slid across the floor to dodge another but this one passed through where his body was. Not needing to know where it came from, Itzal swung his arm out and reached for something, anything, on a nearby table. Twisting his body Itzal threw what he had grabbed across the room, the object sped across the room and slammed into the face of the gunman across from Itzal. The gunmen fell backwards, sprawled across the floor with the rest of his friends.

Itzal then realized that what he had thrown was actually an apple. Judging from the smashed apple remains on the floor around the shooter. _'Did I just defeat someone with an apple?'_ he had to ask himself that, it even sounded stupid when he thought about it.

The room went quiet again, the groans and whimpers had died down slightly and at the centre stood Itzal. Unharmed. "Well I better move on before someone finds all this." This was going to be a real problem when someone is alerted to this.

"Don't. Move." spoke a voice on the other side of the room. Itzal looked toward the source of the voice. In front of him stood one man with his pistol leveled toward Itzal. He wasn't exactly worried about this guy. He didn't seem to be much of a threat with just a pistol but Itzal didn't push it, he just remained still.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" The marine fired off two questions rapidly. Itzal took a moment to look at this guy.

This _guy_ barely looked older than he did. He looked to be twenty one or twenty two at most. He had short black hair, his facial feature resembling someone rather young, sea green eyes stared back at him before he examined his state of dress. He also dressed differently from a standard marine. He wore military black boots and had black pants to go with it. He wore a clean white button up shirt with a red long coat over that. The coat had gold trimmings around it, running over the cuffs and along the seams of the jacket. His outfit was tidy and organised. Very tidy, stiff and clean look about him. He looked slightly out of place among the rest of the marines Itzal had seen so far.

Apart from that knight…

"Answer the question." His voice remained calm, for the most part. Itzal could see a bead of sweat had formed on his forehead. He was clearly nervous after his little display earlier, who wouldn't be?

Itzal just smiled, "Bellow Itzal," He stretched his arms and put them behind his head, "And I'm here to escape this island." A simple truth, one that might not be believed.

"Escape?" The marine faltered for only a moment, his eyes unfocused and quickly refocused on Itzal again. A thought had come to mind in that moment, what that thought was is unknown. "Why come here to escape? That doesn't make sense."

Itzal remained unfazed even with the gun pointed his way, "Our ship crashed and is beyond repair so we're going to… _commandeer_ a ship to escape with." Itzal decided to just remain honest. If he tried to warn anyone Itzal would be forced to stop him but no harm in letting him know right now. You only regret choices later so now it's fine.

"That can't be the only reason why you're here." The marine seemed distrustful which, given the situation, is completely reasonable.

"It's true. As soon as we get a ship, we're out of here." Once again the marine faltered slightly at the mention of leaving. Odd, he seemed to react strongly to any mention of escape.

The marine straightened out again, "Do you really believe you can fight your way off this island?" Itzals face scrunched up in confusion. Why did it sound like he was hoping for a _yes?_

"Of course, my journey doesn't end here." Itzal grinned, "I have goals I'm _going_ to achieve." Itzal seemed to radiate confidence in his statement, leaving no room to argue.

The marine slowly lowered his firearm, turning away from Itzal he seemed to be _seriously_ debating something in his head. Itzal just patiently stood there waiting for the marine to come back reality.

After a few moments the marine turned back to face Itzal, he wordlessly examined Itzal as if trying to see whether or not Itzal could actually escape this island. Itzal just remained unfazed.

But that was quickly shattered.

"Take me with you." Itzal looked at the marine, shocked. He hadn't been expecting that. Since when does a marine want to sail with a pirate? Itzal gave the marine a quick once over, this marine didn't seem bad. He was certainly different from other marines. He dressed differently, wasn't brash and didn't recklessly charge Itzal. He used his brain before his fists.

"Sure." Itzal gave the marine a trustworthy smile which seriously caught him off guard. "But! I'll need your name first." Now it was the marines turn to be shocked.

This really was turning into a strange series of events.

* * *

In a moonlit room sat an individual at his desk. The room was largely empty and plain, with only a desk and chairs in the centre and the odd bookshelf against the snow white walls. The room looked as if it had been drained of color, leaving behind mostly white and black in its stead.

At the desk in the centre sat one person. A man, his back to the large window behind him. The moonlight couldn't illuminate the room well enough to identify him in any form. Only his large silhouette could be made out. The only noise of the room as the sound of a clock, located somewhere on one of the walls.

"And what do you have to report?" He asked, seemingly to nobody as there was nobody else in view of him. However, stepping from the shadows were two figures covered by the darkness. One a large the other small, they both stood to attention. Clearly a sign of respect to an important higher up.

"We've located two intruders, Commander." The larger figure spoke, he seemed very prim and proper at this very moment.

"I know. I've sense an odd presence for awhile now." The man now identified as the _Commander_ replied to them both. He leaned back in his chair. "Their presence… Is something peculiar indeed. I wouldn't have thought we'd see intruders ever again." The man gave an amused snort, "What has it been… twenty years?" Before an answer was given he interrupted himself, "Ah, I digress. But yes, I know we have intruders. Have you figured out why they're here?"

The smaller of the duo spoke up first, "Yes and no sir." Which got an interested " _Oh?_ " from the Commander. "We've learned they plan on stealing a ship to escape but we do not know why they came into the facility otherwise." The Commander leaned forward, clearly interested.

"So we have a team of intruders with unknown goals?" He placed a hand to his chin. "I see, so we have a game now do we? Well, I accept." He spoke to himself, while thinking of a few scenarios that could play out, "What do we know of these intruders?"

"We know that two have made it into the compound from what we could gather. We suspect they have a large crew of some kind hidden nearby, whether ready to assault the fortress or aid in the escape, we are unsure." The smaller of the duo continued to take the lead on speaking. "It is difficult to say what they associate with."

"Associate with? How so?" The Commander listen quietly and patiently to his subordinates explanation.

"We are unsure of what they might be. One of them seemed to align more to being a pirate." The smaller one continued but was swiftly interrupted by his larger friend.

"Yes, the male we saw clearly resembled a pirate in some form or another, however, the female that he was with doesn't seem to fit the description of _pirate,_ sir." The larger figure swayed slightly, "We are unsure of her role in this. We suspect she might be something besides that of a pirate and if so the male that was with her might not be one either if that is the case."

"So, we might not be dealing with some run of the mill pirates then?" The Commander paused, debating something in his head. "Alert the men, tell them to be ready for a call to arms at any moment but _do not_ reveal that the intruders have been discovered. I want to keep them monitored for now until I see the full picture. Understood?"

"Of course, Sir!" Both figures replied before saluting and retreating out of the office to fulfil the Commanders orders.

The Commander leaned back and from under his desk pulled out a chess set, he quickly set up one side fully but on the other he placed only three pieces. The King, a Knight and a Bishop. The Commander gazed at the pieces opposite his, clearly contemplating their meaning. "Let us see who makes the first move shall we."

A _game_ was about to begin, time to see who plays it better.

* * *

 **And it's done, slightly over 5,000 words, so not bad. Here's the chapter done and dusted. I apologise for the delay in the chapter. I've got other obligations I need to fulfil at the moment. Between summer plans, to college and work I've been somewhat distracted. Hopefully the next chapter is out on time, maybe even quicker.**

 **If you're disappointed I didn't show the** _ **Battle of the Apes**_ **you'll have to forgive me for that. Use your imagination on that one. It was more something to keep Itzal distract, not really an important fight or anything.**

 **The set up is done and we're nearing the end of this** _ **arc**_ **. The fights have been decided, now all we need is to kick some ass and get out alive! Lets hope it all goes to plan but knowing this crew, does it ever? Guess the plan is screwed… RIP**

 **Question now is, who's the next potential crewmate to appear in the story? I guess we'll find out.**

 **Special thanks to Outcast for beta-reading this chapter!**

 **(Thanks again to everyone who has beta-read so far and to everyone who is willing to as well! I'm grateful for the support.)**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter… (Chapter 6 - The Commander and his Lieutenants)**


	6. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 6)

**Chapter 6 - The Commander and his Lieutenants**

* * *

A somewhat awkward silence descended upon the ruined kitchen Itzal and this Marine stood in. Neither Itzal or the Marine moved a muscle, instead just standing there, one of them unsure of what to do next.

"Well?" spoke Itzal, waiting patiently for the Marines reply.

The Marine just remained looking at him for a moment before finally deciding to speak. "Marine Lieutenant, Rose Francis." He still hadn't holstered his pistol but it was hanging loosely by his side. From Itzals point of view he had left himself wide open for an attack, there would be nothing he could do if Itzal was to make a move. What exactly did that mean? Did he actually trust Itzal or did he just not notice it?

Itzal smiled, "Alright, nice to meet you Francis." Itzal stepped forward to properly greet him, he grabbed his empty hand and gave it a firm shake. "Do you know where we can acquire a ship? We need to get off this island." Getting straight to the point as usual.

Francis, on the other hand, was rather taken back by how forward Itzal was being. Itzal was so simple with his greeting and he sounds so care free in how he asked about their escape. He blinked twice, trying to confirm what he was seeing, before speaking again. "Hold on! That was a bit too easy wasn't it?" Francis took a step back, "I mean, I'm a marine and your…" He trailed off as he examined Itzals state of dress, he quickly deadpanned, "What exactly are you?"

Itzal paused in his greeting, he was debating telling him he was a pirate cause that might get a bad reaction out of Francis. Pirates and Marines don't exactly play well together after all. In the end, he decided he'd throw caution to the wind and see where this goes.

A trend that will no doubt continue…

"Bellow Itzal, a pirate, Captain of the Sky pirates to be exact." Itzal sounded somewhat proud of the title even if being a pirate didn't mean anything to him it was still great to hear it.

What Itzal found strange was Francis had nearly no reaction to being informed about him being a pirate. Francis actually looked like he might not believe him. There was a short, unnecessary, pause.

Francis raised an eyebrow, "You're a pirate? And a Captain nonetheless." He sounded somewhat sceptical about it. With good reason too. "You don't exactly resemble a pirate in anyway."

Itzal remained care free despite being somewhat criticised, if you could call what Francis said criticism. "Looks don't decide that. I want to be a pirate, I am a pirate. That's all it takes."

' _A fair point if I ever heard one._ ' Francis conceded on that argument, Itzal wasn't wrong on that one. "Don't you think that was a bit easy? You trust me immediately like it's nothing."

Itzals responded with, "It's unhealthy to go around always wary of others, unable to to trust anyone. You need to have more faith in the people around regardless of how different their path through life might be." Francis couldn't really argue with him, how could you shoot down such a positive mind set?

' _We got ourselves a philosopher I see…_ ' Francis thought to himself before speaking again, "Alright, so you have a crew? If you're the Captain than your crew should be nearby right? So where are they?" This could go well or wrong for Francis, if he had a crew their chances of escape increased a considerable amount but a full crew of pirates could spell disaster for him too. Not all pirates are fond of marines, luckily Itzal seemed alright with him and him being the Captain was also rather lucky too.

"I have no idea but I think they're nearby… hopefully." His response didn't instill much confidence in Francis.

"So, you're telling me you plan to escape here, mostly on your own, because you, the Captain, have no idea where the rest of your crew is…" Itzal seemed to hum slightly before answering.

"Well, I know they're on the island somewhere. Last I saw them they were heading along the beaches of the island in search of a settlement of some kind. I'm not sure if they found any…" He was interrupted by Francis.

"No, there are no other settlements located on this island." He glanced sideways, "Well unless you count the animal settlements in the jungles." At the end Itzal heard him murmer about apes or something. Itzal would know all about that wouldn't he?

"So, if they didn't find anything then they're probably search in land somewhere." Itzal moved over to a window looking out into the fortress grounds. He stared at the open courtyard in front of the largest building of the fortress. He suspected it was the main headquarters of the island. "I think Zarina would have suggested searching along the river if they didn't find anything."

Francis moved up, cautiously, behind Itzal, "Alright, so you think they might know about the fortress?"

"I believe they do and I think I know what they'd have planned." Itzal smiled as he continued to observe everything outside the window, "They plan to _commandeer_ one of those ships docked in the lagoon." Pointing to the ships in the lagoon, more so the ones facing the river, ready to depart.

Francis thought over the plan, finally holstering his pistol. If he was going to pull this off he was going to have to trust Itzal, even if only until he finally escapes the Marines grasp on his and finds somewhere safe to stay, somewhere the Marines wouldn't be able to come after him.

"So you want to commandeer the ship first? Wait until the rest of your crew get there before we attempt our escape?" Francis moved from the window over to another exit from the kitchen they were in, opposite the entrance Itzal had wondered, ever so casually, through. "How many people are we waiting on?" Francis threw him a simple question as he neared the exit, he certainly wasn't expecting Itzals answer.

"Two." He said simple, before turning and walking toward the same exit Francis was at. Francis slowly turned to face him at his response.

"Did you just say… two?" He decided to repeat himself, "Two crew mates?"

"Yep." Was Itzals simple and honest reply. You could almost feel the confidence in their escape be sucked out of Francis when he heard that. A crew of three pirates and himself were all they had to escape a Marine compound? That wasn't exactly reassuring to hear, after all, Francis knew this place best of the group, he knew what this could end up like if it all went sideways.

He recomposed himself, tidying himself, leaving him looking all prime and proper, as any classic soldier would. He gave a passing glance to Itzal again, ' _Am I really putting my faith in the ability of three pirates?_ ' He sighed slightly before thinking, ' _What choice do I have. I just hope they're capable pirates at the very least._ '

"Shall we get going?" Itzal spoke up, drawing Francis from his thoughts. "Any idea which way is best for us to go without being detected?" Itzal pushed open the door, which lead into another room. This one looked to be a larger dining area, the one they stood in was half kitchen and dining room, this was more a large mess hall. No lights on, windows near the door on the other side. A series of large metal tables and benches filled the room from wall to wall, easily able to hold a couple hundred marines. The room was spotless, as a marine hold building should be.

Both Itzal and Francis walked from one side of the room to the other, heading straight for the exit to the outside on the other side. Itzal noticed Francis walked in more a strict form, like a soldier, his marine training shining through without his knowing.

"I suggest we move around the outskirts of the complex, avoiding the open areas and sticking to the shadowed buildings. It's our best bet of sneaking around undetected." Francis explained his suggestion. He wasn't wrong, if they just dashed across the courtyard they be seen for sure.

"Sure, let's go." Itzal smiled before pushing the steel door open and dashing to the nearest bit of shadow. Francis stood still for a moment.

"This isn't going to go smoothly is it…" He murmured to himself before following Itzals lead and making a quick run toward the shadows Itzal had disappeared into.

* * *

Zarina sighed to herself, "At least you kept to your word…" She muttered, keeping herself looking somewhat stoic as she did, Rob standing beside her clearly not as concerned as she was at the situation at hand.

"I'm a man of my word, what can I say?" He grinned cheekily, they both stood there in the shadow of one of the buildings. The specific building looked to be a communication centre judging by the communication den den mushis on both the roof and front of the building.

Zarina and Rob figured a communications centre would have some kind of maps, navigation or communication equipment for them to use. Maps were the priority however, they could get equipment at a later date, all they needed was a map for them to find their way to the next island. Zarina was hoping to find an appealing island nearby for her to escape onto.

But they were plans for a later date, at the moment Zarina and Rob stood over a pile of unconscious marines, clearly it was Robs handy work. Rob completely uncaring, Zarina ,although slightly panicked by the fact Rob had just assaulted a patrol of marines that had come across them as they snuck around, was mostly showing frustration. Rob had made a rather noticeable scene, the evidence was only slightly hidden by the shadow of a building. If someone came across this the whole facility would be alerted to their presence.

Zarina was exhausted by Robs lack of care, stupidity being another word for it, he didn't seem to care about alerting the marines to their presence. Zarina didn't entirely know how strong Rob, or Itzal for that matter, thought he was. They did manage to attack a marine prison convey and get out of it unharmed but this was a marine facility with _no_ way of escape if this went poorly. Rob could at the very least try to take this seriously.

This was actually the second patrol they came across and that one had gone just as poorly as this one. It was immediately after they left the storage warehouse, although, surprisingly, it was partly Zarina that got them caught that time.

* * *

 **-Flashback-**

"Great." Zarina muttered before she slowly, and far more cautiously, followed Rob.

Just as she rounded the corner there stood in front of them were two marines with their backs turned toward them. They stood, literally, four feet in front of them, unaware of their presence.

' _Woah, they're very aware of their surroundings…_ ' Rob thought, giving the marines a flat look. Rob turned to Zarina, "Give me a second, alright?" He said immediately after his thoughts in a normal, unhushed tone. This caught their attention as both the marines flinched at the unexpected voice.

Before they could turn around or Rob leapt on them to demolish them, Rob felt his hands be pulled behind his back. He glanced sideways to see Zarina standing next to him, holding his hands behind him with one of hers.

"Play along." She whispered to him, Rob remained unfazed but simple shrugged. This would be interesting to see.

Both the marines turned to face them, hands on their blade hilts. However, they paused for a moment went they saw the both of them.

"What's going on here? Who are you both?" One of them asked in a rapid manner, suspicious of the duo. Rightly so I might add.

Rob remained silent, letting Zarina lead on this one. Zarina pushed Rob forward slightly before speaking, "Lieutenant Jackdaw and I'm escorting this man to the prison cells. Is there some kind of problem?" Zarina spoke in a very professional and authoritative manner, Rob couldn't help but grin. The shade of his hat hid it from view but he was rather entertained by that. Not to mention she stole his name so she wouldn't be caught out. Clever.

Zarina had stolen marine clothes from the battleship when she got out of her prison jumpsuit, she was trying to pass herself off as a marine from the parts of the uniform she was wearing.

One of the marines stepped forward, "Prisoner? I didn't know we were getting a prison transfer." The other stepped forward as well. Rob noticed they had both relaxed slightly, he almost laughed but he didn't want to give away Zarinas plan. This was actually working. "We hardly get prisoners here." The same marine added.

Zarinas response was sharp, "Because it was a need to know bases." She pulled on Robs, fake, restraints to put attention on him. "This pirate was brought here under the cover of darkness away from a prison convey because he holds sensitive and valuable information and the commanders in charge didn't want his crew to attempt a rescue so they ordered him to be brought here." Her tone changed to more of an irritated one.

This was hilarious to Rob, he was barely keeping together. He appeared stoic on the outside but anymore of this and he might blow their cover.

Both the marines stood to attention, both of them sweating slightly clearly intimidated by her. "Apologies Lieutenant, be on your way." Saluting her as she and Rob walked by.

Zarina nodded back to them, "Back to what you were doing." She told them as they passed. Zarina careful not to let the marines see Rob with no restraints on.

Just as they were about to move on they were stopped by an shrill and almost snobbish sounding voice before behind, "Hold it," They heard from him, "What's this?"

Zarina spun herself and Rob around to face the new arrival, another male marine. Looking at him he clearly stood out from a normal marine. This man stood around five foot ten inches, he had greying wiry hair. He had a bushy grey mustache, his face was starting to wrinkle. He looked to be in his mid forties if anyone had to guess. His clothes were similar to that of a marine but the color scheme was different. Instead of the blue and white uniform his was red and gold. He had a long coat that was draped over his shoulders, hand behind his back. He clearly held a high rank than the standard grunt.

Rob took one look at his face and knew something was about to happen. His gut never lied to him but for now he'd wait and see before making a move. A move he knew was coming.

The man stepped closer to the other two marines as well as Zarina and Rob. "Well? Care to explain?" He awaited a reply.

One of the two marine grunts spoke up first, "Prisoner transfer sir. A late night operation. This pirate is said to hold valuable information and is currently being brought to the holding cells." He quickly replied with, not holding back anything.

"Oh? Is that so?" He stepped forward again right up to Rob and inspected him. Rob by this stage had calmed down enough that he wasn't giving anything away. His inspection of Rob was oddly quick, his attention turning on Zarina next.

He grunted, "I didn't know we were recruiting your kind." He said with displeasure. Rob subtly raised an eyebrow, ' _What the fuck?_ ' He reacted like that to her and not a prisoner?

Zarina remained unfazed, applying her _customer service_ face before speaking. "Pardon Sir, what do you mean?"

"Women. I didn't know the recruiting standards had fallen." He sighed heavily, snorting right after just like a pig would. "I'll be having a word with the Commander about this."

Zarina didn't show any visual reaction but Rob could tell an inner reaction from a mile away.

"There is nothing wrong with recruiting woman. Women are just as useful as men if not more so." She began a small counter argument with this man.

The marine snorted in disgust, "Please, women belong in the home and nowhere else." He grunted in irritation, "What's the point of arguing with you, your simple mind would not comprehend anything. Women belong in the home, doing the simple tasks that men are above. It's that simple." He closed in on Zarina, "Do you understand?" He sounded like he was asking a rhetorical question.

Zarina didn't respond, she just tilted her head down. The marine grunted, "As expected." he said in a shrill voice. His voice was headache inducing

Rob was starting to get a headache from this asshat, "Someone like you calls me scum?" Rob chuckled, "You're a real wanker you know that?"

He certainly didn't like that now.

"Excuse me? Care to say that again you pirate trash?" He got up in Robs face trying to act the big man. Rob would put money on it he was only doing this because he _thought_ he was in restraints.

Rob grinned, time for some _fun_ , "Wanker~" He said more clearly this time.

Well, now this guy looked furious, which Rob was rather pleased with.

"Am I now?" He grinned, "How about now?!" He yelled slightly before punching Rob in the gut. There was a moment's pause before the man pulled his hand back, hissed and shook his hand trying to alleviate the pain. Rob couldn't help but smirk, he could even tell Zarina would get a kick out of that.

The guy hurt himself even though he was the one throwing the punch.

"I'm not a fan of violence." Zarina spoke up, catching everyone's attention. It actually surprised Rob a little at her sudden involvement, he thought she was just going to go with it. "But I'll make an exception this time." She said a bit more assertively before looking the prick of a marine dead in the face.

Zarina was perfectly lined up, using Rob as a support she rapidly swung her leg and caught this prick in the best place she could.

 _ **Perfect Shot~**_

Rob grinned wider as the two other marines paled at the sight. The third marine dropped to the ground, unconscious, pale, mouth open gapping. Low groans slipped from his mouth, you could almost see his lack of a soul leaving his body.

Zarina fully released Rob and sighed, somewhat satisfactorily, and placed her hands on her hip and rapier "That was well and truly deserved."

"Ay." Was all Rob responded with before taking his hands out from behind his back and looking toward the two other stunned marines. "Thanks for letting us pass." Before either of the two marines could react, Rob took a large step toward them, grabbed them both by the head and slammed them together, rendering them both unconscious as they fell into a pile at his feet.

Zarina composed herself, coughed into her hand to clear her throat and stepped up beside Rob, "I apologise for _blowing our cover_ , so to speak." She folded her arms, "And hear I thought you were the one going to get us caught."

Rob just shrugged it off, "I was but you beat me to it. Besides, you were the one to come up with the ruse so it was yours to ruin if you wanted." He couldn't help but let a laugh slip, "Has to be said, I wasn't expecting such a clever ruse so quickly. I'm impressed."

"Well the situation demanded it. I'm more frustrated at the fact the ruse was ruined. I hate leaving things unfinished." She was rather disappointed in herself, "I'm so stupid for letting my emotions get the better of me."

"Hey now, you did good. Besides, if I had kicked him the screams would have been heard all across the first half of the Grandline." Defending her actions. Rob was a chill type of guy but that guy was a pig, he deserved worse than what he got.

Zarina rolled her eyes, "I think we should get out of here as soon as we hide the… _evidence_."

"Nah, leave them here as an example." Just than Rob began to move on, leaving the scene as it was. Zarina looked between the scene and Rob and sighed.

"I'm slowly getting absorbed into this…" She groaned, rather comically, to herself before following Rob once again.

 **-Flashback End-**

* * *

"Well, should we see about commandeering a ship then?" said Rob, sounding as casual as ever as he turned to survey all the ships in the lagoon dock.

"I suppose it would be best to have a ship ready and rigged properly for our rapid departure once we're found out soon." Zarina couldn't really argue with him. It wasn't a bad idea to have your get away ship ready before making your move.

Zarina walked up to Rob and stopped, waiting for him to pick out which ship they should prepare. While he did that, Zarina was contemplating how they had not been discovered yet. ' _Surely it can't be this easy. We're walking around a marine facility, one of us without a care in the world, and have only been spotted twice. Something's not adding up…_ ' She couldn't help but think of all the worst outcomes to their situation.

"Oi, how about that one." said Rob, pointing toward a decently sized ship docked between two larger frigate class ships.

Zarina squinted slightly and fixed her glasses to try and make the ship out more. From their point of view they couldn't see the front end but they could tell the ship looked mostly ready for sail. All they had to do was raise anchor, unleash the sails and steer her free of the dock.

The ship looked to be a brig class vessel if Zarinas estimates were correct. It looked around the forty to fifty feet in length range, stood rather tall at thirty feet tall from the base of the ship to the top of the crows nest. The sails, although tied, were near snow white, the paint job of the ship was streaks of pale red and orange with black outlines around these streaks. The ships wooden frame looked to be in good condition. No obvious signs of rot.

"Have an eye for ships do we?" Zarina sarcastically asked Rob, "Or were you choosing one that looked manageable enough for you not to crash or beach it?" She raised an eyebrow to Rob, already knowing his answer however.

"Little bit of A, little bit of B." He said through a small laugh.

"Well you picked out a good ship for us to man. It might be difficult to man it with only three people but it should prove sturdy enough to take a beating during the escape so that is a sizeable plus." She half praised him for his choice.

"I just thought it would make for a good ship for us pirates. Something sturdy but with speed on its side." Rob explained himself, "And something I could handle until we get a proper helmsman."

"Your honesty in this situation is somewhat refreshing." Zarina admitted, she took a quick once over the courtyard to see if their were any other marines in the area. Once she was sure there were none currently present she tapped Rob on the shoulder. "Alright, so you wanted to check out the ship? It's clear for now so it's now or never."

With a nod Rob began to walk over to the ship, hands in his pockets, completely unfazed by where he was. Anyone could spot him.

"He's unbelievable…" Zarina couldn't help but say it to herself.

Zarina took off after him at a fast walking pace to catch up to him. As she closed in on him they were both only a few feet from the docks. The ship coming into view, now they could see it for all its glory. It was a fine ship the more you looked at it.

"She really is a fine looking ship, can't wait to see her on the high sea." Rob looked over the ship, seeing the canons, the sails, the wheel, it all looked perfect for what they needed.

"She?" Zarina spoke up.

"Ay, _she_ is a real beauty. You refer to ships as a she." explained Rob, "Well, I do anyway." Rob smiled as he continued to examine the ship but that smile soon disappeared. He tilted his hat over his eyes and glanced over his shoulder to look at something behind him.

"Oi, Zarina…" said Rob in a surprisingly more serious tone, "Get on the ship."

Zarina turned to face him, somewhat confused to why he was telling her to board the ship. As she faced him something fast moving and coming straight for her caught her attention out the corner of her eye.

Before she even realised what it was, she saw it stop right in front of her. It was a short knife, a throwing knife to be exact. A delicate hand crafted blade by what she could tell from the markings on it A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her head.

There, only two inches away from her chest was a knife. That would have killed her, and then she realised it had stopped right in front of her. She saw the outstretched hand of Rob grasping the blade by the hilt of the knife with his thumb and index finger.

Rob had caught the blade before it had reached her.

Before Zaria could speak she a chackle a few feet ahead of them. She looked toward the source of the laughter to find two figures standing there.

They seemed to be a pair. One was a small, more thin looking man. One that barely reached four feet in height, pale skin, black hair, beady black eyes and a sinister grin on his face. He stood there in front of his much larger counterpart, casually juggling knives as he watch Zarina and Rob.

The other man that stood over his friend stood at least eight foot, his skin was slightly dark than his counterpart. He was much more muscular, accurate to someone of his size. He had black hair and large oval shape eyes. The larger man on the other hand looked somewhat disappointed but his disappointment was directed at his ally, not Rob or Zarina.

Both of them wore a modified version of a marine uniform signifying they're higher rank. If anyone were to hazard a guess, they'd be Lieutenants.

"Shame, I wasn't expecting you to catch that." His voice sounded so shrill and high pitched, you'd rather hear nails across a chalkboard than hear this guy give a speech.

At his rather sinister taunt Rob shattered the knife between his fingers like it was glass. The remnants of the blade clattering harmlessly across the floor.

The larger one spoke up, "Brother please, why must you disobey the Commander. We were meant to observe their actions not confront them." His disappoint rather obvious by his tone, which was surprising smooth and calm.

"Tsk, I got bored and this will make it interesting." He laughed as he caught multiple knives between his fingers.

Zarina stood completely still for a moment, trying to fully comprehend what just happened, she wasn't expecting that. If Rob wasn't there she could very well be dead by that. A knife through the chest.

She nearly died.

She drew her rapier and steeled herself, readying herself if they were to try something. She was seriously caught off guard, she was far too latent about where she was and who she was dealing with. She, damn well, knew who they were dealing with. But she also knew that she might not have been able to defend herself from that knife even if she was on guard. She wasn't at peak physical fitness, her skills were somewhat rusty and she wouldn't have been prepared for a sneak attack like that. Zarina knew all too well she is not a strong fighter.

Rob on the other hand was far more relaxed about it, although it did piss him off slightly that they targeted Zarina first with her back turned as well, he clearly was fazed by them.

"I can feel my ears starting to _bleed_ …" He muttered to mainly to himself. He was talking about the voice of the smaller one. It was enough to want you cut off your ears.

"Do you two care to introduce yourselves?" asked Rob, he might as well start since nobody else was going to ask.

The smaller one grinned before leaping onto the shoulder of his larger friend and posed menacingly, well he thought it was menacing. It actually looked rather lame.

"I am Borja and my comrade is Jewels." The one identified at Borja began juggling the knives again, "And we're the official gate guardians and watchers of this facility. We know all that happens here. All who enter, never get the chance to leave" He ended his statement with a sinister smirk, clearly cocky right now.

' _What a poser…_ ' thought Rob as he gave them a deadpan stare. This was getting stupid.

Just as Rob was about to speak up Zarina cut in, "Guardians? I find that hard to believe." The smaller ones face dropped its smirk, "There is no way an official and professional organization such as the World Government would hire people to be **gate guardians**. That sounds very childish for such a faction to use." Zarina calmly secured her glasses again, "I didn't know the marines were hiring children."

A silence descended upon them, Zarina didn't notice for a moment but once she did she looked toward Rob who was staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that look for?" She asked. He looked rather surprised.

"Was that really needed?" He asked somewhat seriously, he than tilted his head in the direction of their attackers emphasizing to Zarina to look at them. When she did she realized what she did.

A rather comical sight if this situation wasn't considered dangerous. The little man had turned red with anger over being mocked, a vein popped on his forehead, while the larger man bowed toward them in an almost apologetic manner.

"Oh…" Zarina murmured to herself and Rob, "Sorry."

"That's it!" yelled the smaller one. "I'll take my time dealing with your smartass once I kill your _protector_!" He pointed his blades toward Rob. The larger man stood up from his bow and nodded in agreement to his comrade.

Rob stepped in front of Zarina, "Stay out of this one alright?" He asked her without taking his eyes off the pair of marines.

Zarina took one look at Rob and realized he was taking this seriously. She doesn't like people having to protect her but she might not be able to deal with them. She knew at least Rob was capable in a fight so on this one she would relent and leave the fighting to a fighter.

A silent nod and Zarina retreated over to the ship they had planned on commandeering. At the very least Zarina would have the ship ready for an escape if they needed it while Rob fought.

Now all that remained were the trio that were iching for a fight.

Without another word Borja flung three knives toward Rob. Each one directed for a different limb, one for each leg and the other for his chest.

Rob sidestepped left only slightly for the knives aiming for his legs to miss. One passing between his legs and the other to his right. The one going for his chest he simple caught mid air.

"Impressive." The smaller one growled in frustration, "This won't be an easy kill." he now stood in the palm of his larger comrade, Jewels.

Rob didn't waste time and charged them both, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. He went for a left punch on Jewels but to Robs surprise he dodged left rather swiftly.

Following the momentum he swung a blindly fast back heel kick but was surprised when he felt he made contact but was stopped.

Jumping from his position he landed a few feet away to see what had just happened.

Rob, sort of, deadpanned at the sight in front of him. Jewels stood ready in an evasive battle stance, which was only slightly weird that the bigger was swift on his feet. Borja on the other hand was being held by Jewels by the ankles like a sword hilt. Borjas hands held knives in-between each finger, from his blades to above his wrist he had coated in armament haki.

"Now you realize how we work." Borja spoke up drawing Rob from his stupor. "We work as one, one of us the armour, the other the weapon. I am the weapon, my blades will slice through your flesh with agonising pain." Borja continued to rant, where as Jewels shook his head in disappointment.

' _Why do I always get the weird ones…_ ' thought Rob somewhat annoyed. ' _Why do I get the feeling they're one of those 'we fill in for the others weaknesses' type._ '

Rob once again charged the pair, he figured he'd have to deal with them one at a time but which one first?

Rob went for a spinning back kick straight to the centre mass of Jewels but was once again he dodged the strike by backpedalling.

He counter attacked by swinging Borja horizontally, arms outstretched, blades in his hands, the strike nearly caught him off guard by how fast the counter attack was but Rob backpedaled too quickly for them to actually cut him.

Both sides backed away from one another, only six feet between them. Rob wasn't hurt but he looked down to see his shirt was slice horizontally across his chest. Six clean cuts through his shirt.

Now it was their turn, Jewels dashed toward Rob. Expecting an attack Rob haki upped his right arm to block whatever strike came his way but to his surprise they dashed past him, not even attempting to strike him. As they slid to a stop behind him they launched an attack, clearly going for a back attack.

" **Ace of Knives!"**

Borja swung his arms in an x pattern toward Rob, a series of knives were flung from the inside of his sleeves, a total of ten knives in an x shape flew toward Rob at chest height.

Rob leaned back as the knives neared him, the blades flying over him. He backflipped once the knives had passed over him as to quick fast his attackers again.

It seemed it was Jewels turn as he had switched stances for a more powerful one.

" **Special Attack: Living Weapon!"**

Jewels leaned back, Borja in hand and gave a powerful over head throw and threw _Borja_ at him. Borja flew toward Rob, rotating like a shuriken through the air. Rob once again sidestepped, barely dodging the _bizarre_ attack.

Rob had felt the rush of air as Borja passed him, he looked to the ground by his feet and saw Borja had cut off a few strands of his red hair.

Rob ignored Borja and instead, unexpectedly, charged Jewels, who was further away. By the look on Jewels face, he hadn't been expecting that. Rob had moved far faster than anticipated and was beside Jewels in under a second.

" **Gut Buster!"**

Rob bent his right leg, pulled it up to his chest and launched it into Jewels guy within the blink of an eye, giving him a fierce side kick straight into his gut. You could almost feel the rush of air leaving Jewels from the impact.

Jewels was sent skidding backwards across the ground. Grinding to a halt, you could see the pained expression on Jewels face as he dropped to one knee.

Rob was about to press the attack on Jewels again but sensed an incoming strike his way. Leaning his head back a knife sailed passed his face, missing him my a mere inch.

He looked for Borja, knowing he was the one who threw it. He caught sight of Borja as he neared Jewels, getting into a defensive stance when he neared him.

"Are you okay, you idiot." Borja growled at Jewels, clearly angered his comrade took a hit. Jewels gave a nod to his friend to convey he wasn't too badly hurt.

Borja kept his eyes on Rob, glaring at him. "Bastard!" He looked iching to slice Rob to pieces.

Ignoring that, Rob now knew that he'd best deal with them when they are separated, when they couldn't protect one another.

Or while they were distracted during an attack…

Rob smirked, he'd have to see where his idea leads. Rob waited for them to make a move, he wanted to see how they'd change tac.

Jewels grabbed Borja by the legs again and held him like a sword, standing and moving into an offensive stance. Jewels charged Rob, as he neared he swung Borja horizontally again. Borja lunged for Rob with his knives but this time they all missed him as they slid passed him, going for a quick back attack Jewels swung behind himself, swinging Borja vertically up, this time Borja managed to actually cut Rob with one of the blades. Three vertical cuts up his shirt, one cut on his chest. A shallow cut but a cut nonetheless.

Completely unfazed Rob simply lunged forward punched straight forward, aiming for Jewels again. He used Borja to block the strike with his armament haki coated knives. Instead of retracting the punch, Rob grabbed hold of Borjas uniform and dragged him off to the side. Neither Borja or Jewels were prepared for this and so stumbled over to the the direction they were pulled.

" **Skull Fracture!"**

Rob hopped off the ground slight and spun around backwards. Slamming Jewels in the back of the head with a fierce, spinning back heel kick.

Jewels released his grip of Borja causing him to fall to the ground as Jewels was sent tumbling across the ground, skidding into a pile of crates, destroying two crates and causing the rest to fall around him.

Leaping back from Borja, Rob gave a quick glance to Jewels to see if he was going to get up or not. Once he saw he was unconscious he turned his attention back to Borja, who looked absolutely furious.

"You Bastard! I'll kill you and everyone you know!" He yelled boiling with rage, screeching at the top of his, tiny, lungs. It was surprising that nobody had heard him.

Rob rubbed his ear, he thought it was going to bleed by how high pitched that was, he rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than this guy.

He charged Rob, he was clearly annoyed that his friend was down but that was their fault, they attacked Zarina first.

Borja closed the distance by leaping at him, blades at the ready, aiming for Robs face and throat. He slashed wildly at Rob, clearly thirsty for blood.

Rob slowly backpedaled and subtly dodged each slash by leaning from side to side until Rob pushed back hard to put more distance between them. Borja seceded his advance for a quick moment.

" **Blade Storm!"**

Borja rapidly threw a dozen knives in circular motion, a circle of knives flew toward Rob, Borja rushed him alongside the blades, him in the centre of the attack.

Rob took a narrow stance and outstretched his left hand, aiming at Borja.

" **Dragons Pulsar!"**

Rob clenched his right fist and struck the air in front of him just before the knives or Borja, an air pulse blast both the knives and Borja. The knives were sent flying in random directions but Borja was shot backwards into an open area just in front of the buildings.

Borja had taken the major power behind that attack. Rob relaxed after that attack and looked at Borja. He was still on the ground, barely moving, he looked to be conscious but barely.

Borja coughed before growling at Rob, "You… bastard…" He was very fond of calling Rob that wasn't he?

His last act before passing out on the other hand was something to be concerned about. With a flick of his wrist he threw a knife toward a pole. A pole with a large bell on it. The blade hit the bell and a massive ring rung out through the facility.

At the noise Zarina reappeared at the edge of the ship, calling over to Rob, "What was that?" She had readyed the ship as best she could, the ship was basically ninety percent complete. With a few pulls of a rope this ship should be ready to sail.

The front doors of a few buildings nearby burst open and squads of marines rushed forth, armed with swords and rifles.

Rob sighed as Zarina caught sight of the marines rushing into the open courtyard, coming straight for them.

* * *

Francis leaned out from the shadows of one of the buildings, he knew it was the armory, and searched the grounds for any signs of movement. He seemed rather nervous but that was because of what Itzal just did. Itzal stood only a few feet further in the shadow standing over a squad of unconscious marines that had spotted them a few moments ago. Itzal took them down before any of them could alert anyone else.

Neither Itzal or Francis were skilled in stealth so they were going to get caught eventually. Lucky for them they'd only been spotted once. Better than Rob and Zarina anyway.

Francis leaned back and turned to Itzal, "We should meet up with the rest of your crew, we need to gather up by the docks and steal one the ships before we're found out."

Before Itzal could speak they heard the ringing of a bell echo throughout the facility. "What's that?" asked Itzal, he had an idea it meant they were found out but he was hoping it had some other meaning.

"It means there is a situation in progress, generally it means we're under attack." Francis explained, not what Itzal wanted to hear but the situation could be much worse. "We're only ever used it when the facility is under attack from the wildlife on the island but I think this times it's for us." He continued to explain, "Or your crew."

Itzal stepped out of the shadows of the building and gazed across the open grounds of the facility, across the yard he saw squads of marines pile out of the buildings and heading straight for the docks. Francis joined him in inspecting the scene. No point in hiding anymore they were found out.

"What's the plan now Itzal? We aren't sneaking our way out of here anymore." asked Francis, he was now really concerned about his odds of making it out of here. These _pirates_ were his only way off his island, if they went down, so did he.

"Well, why not go join them by the docks?" Itzal asked his own question, Francis giving him a thoughtful look. "Nobody knows you're with us Francis, so why not sneak off on your own. Until like the rest of us, you blend in." Itzal explained his logic, Francis could freely move around the facility no questions asked.

An idea popped into Francis' head, "Alright, so what if I subtly gather what we need such as maps, tools and disrupt communications while you and your crew secure a ship. Since there's a battle going on over by the docks I'll assume that is where the ship is. We meet on the ship and sail out of here once I get there. Does that work?" The plan sounded good on paper and it was their best bet as well, they'd need to defend the ship from attack or they were definitely screwed.

Itzal paused for a moment, mulling over the idea, sure it sounded good but Itzal really didn't want to have to beat up a load of marines while they waited for Francis.

Itzal was actually being rather trusting, as always, with Francis. He wanted to wander off on his own and do as he pleased. For all Itzal knew Francis could sell them out to his Commanders and give away their plan to get them caught. I mean, it was pirates versus marines here. But Itzal was better than that, he'd trust Francis on this. He had instinctual feeling about Francis, one that told him he could trust him and he would follow his instinct.

"Alright, so we meet at the ship? Try not to take too long?" Itzal reconfirming what the plan was, not that it was much of a plan, more a guideline to what they wanted to do.

"I won't take long, all I need is a map and the stars to get us to the next island." With that they gave each other a nod before Francis took off across the courtyard while Itzal stood just in front of one of the buildings, watching the facility.

Itzal stood there for much longer than he needed to but he was waiting, waiting for someone. He had a sensed a presence nearby for awhile now and Itzal knew this presence knew he was here too.

"So you're one of the intruders I see. I'll be honest, I'm impressed by your actions thus far." A voice spoke up from the door to the building Itzal stood in front of, it sounded genuinely impressed in its tone.

Itzal turned to the voice to see a tall man standing against the wall, hands in his pockets and not looking directly at Itzal.

He stood at roughly seven feet, seven inches. He wore a white three piece suit with a light blue shirt underneath that, black leather shoes and a marine commodores hat. He looked to be an older gentleman, around sixty if anyone had to guess. Short silver hair and mustache signifying his age. He may have been older than Itzal but something told him he was no push over.

"Ah, where are my manners, my apologies." He said as he began to walk toward Itzal before stopping and giving a small tilt of his head, "I am Commander Fox, the man in charge of this facility. I'm also known as the Silver Fox by some if you'd like to know." The man now known as Commander Fox introduced himself. "May I ask who might you be?"

"Bellow Itzal, nice to meet you Fox." Itzal replied, as straightforward as ever. Itzal turned his body to face him, it looked like a standoff between the two of them.

"Care to explain why you're trespassing in a marine compound?" asked Fox, he actually sounded curious, "And may I ask what exactly your intentions are?" He continued to ask.

The fact Fox had even begun a dialogue with Itzal says that he wanted to know more before deciding anything, more a rational thinker. Maybe they didn't have to fight.

"We didn't know this place was a marine facility, I just wanted to explore an unmarked island on a map we found." Itzal began to explain, hopefully this works, "Our ship crashed and is no longer usable as a ship anymore so we're stranded on this island until we acquire another ship. As soon as we do we're out of here. We never planned to do anything, it was more an accident."

"Hmmmm, I see. You're in quite a predicament." Fox seemed to mull over his thoughts for a few moments, "Unfortunately I can't just let you walk free. You're an intruder to a marine facility that is classified to the general public. It's a shame but I have to detain you and your comrades." Fox began to close in on Itzal, "I'm really am sorry lad."

"I understand." Replied Itzal as he readied himself for an innvitiable fight.

" **Vulcan Prayer!"**

Itzal activated his devil fruit again steam poured from his exposed skin, the same exposed skin turned red hot like a forge.

"Good luck lad, may the best man win." With that, Fox charged Itzal. For an older man he moved extremely quickly. So fast he'd put most people to shame.

Just as he closed in on Itzal, he quickly disappeared from view surprising Itzal. Before he could relocate Fox he felt something small and solid strike the side of his head, sending him tumbling forward, a small trickle of blood ran down from just above his ear.

Itzal landed and quickly straightened himself up and looked back to where he was just stood. Fox stood there, fist outstretched to where Itzal had just stood. And he once again disappeared from view, Itzal knew an attack was coming but before he could attempt to move he felt another blow, this one to his right side.

Itzal was expecting this attack so he wasn't sent into a tumble, he was still thrown to the side from the force of the strike but he didn't stagger.

Realizing what Fox was doing Itzal quickly countered it.

" **Omniscience Liberated!"**

He didn't bother to look back to where Fox had last struck him, Itzal knew his eyes weren't going to be that helpful in a fight where someone can move faster than the eye can see.

Itzal dashed forward and rolled across the ground just as he sensed an incoming attack and he was right, before he looked back he heard the noise of someone striking the ground, cracking concrete and stone.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal quickly formed a condensed ball of heat energy in his hands and launched it toward Fox's direction. Fox, however, quickly dodged the blast, the ball of heat moving past the area and hitting a nearby wall, completely shattering it into small pieces of brick and stone.

" **Nine Tailed Fox!"**

Fox landed off to Itzals left after dodging the last attack and dashed forward at Itzal once again.

Itzal was forced to backpedal to dodge the volley of strikes, Fox launched a volley of exactly nine punches, each directed at a different part of Itzals body.

Itzal dodged the first eight strikes, the ones directed at his elbows, knees, feet, waist and head, in that order. Each one was suppose to disable Itzal from the stinging pain behind it but Itzal was quick enough to dodge them.

But the last one was directed at his chest, his chest was too big a target to move out of the way in time so Itzal crossed his arms in an x-shape across his chest and took the hit.

The hit sent Itzal skidding across the ground, his bare feet digging into the concrete floor, breaking it as he went he got completely winded by the punch, causing Itzal to pause for a moment to recover.

Foxs speed was extremely impressive to say the least but Itzal watched as Fox stood by where Itzal had just been and saw that he was sweating already. It was clear that his age was getting to him but he didn't want to give up either. Fox would want to end this quickly because his stamina would be his weakest trait, all Itzal had to do was out last him.

But where is the sportsmanship in that? Just wait it out? No.

Itzal would fight fair and fight just as much as Fox. All he had to do was beat his speed, with his heightened senses from his _Omniscience Liberated_ , Itzal could feel the slight vibrations in the earth from Foxes strong and fast steps.

If he focused enough he could track his movements from the vibrations alone and act accordingly but _Omniscience Liberated_ was getting to be rather taxing by now with how much Itzal has been using it today. He'll need to act fast and use this advantage.

Itzal waited for Fox to move in for another attack, it didn't take long for Fox to charge him again, disappearing from view. This time Itzal focused in on the feeling the earth to find Fox.

' _There!_ ' Itzal leaned back his head and body and watched as a punch sailed straight past, missing his jaw, which is what Fox must have been aiming at.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal rapidly condensed heat energy into the palm of his right hand and fired it off point blank range into Fox's centre of mass. A small blast of heat at such range sent Itzal backwards but since he was expecting it he remained standing, Fox on the other hand was sent rolling across the ground into the wall of one of the buildings creating a gaping hole in it.

Even after a point blank shot like that Fox got up relatively quickly trying not to leave himself vulnerable although shakily showing he was still somewhat stunned..

"Good hit lad, that was impressive. I never thought I'd see a devil fruit user again." Fox breathlessly chuckled to himself. He was giving both himself and Itzal a chance to catch their breath, not that Itzal needed it.

"Thanks, you're a really impressive fighter Mr Fox." Itzal gave a certain respect to the old man, he was fighting regardless of being somewhat of out the _game_. Itzal calmed himself and ceased using his devil fruit since he began speaking with Fox now. "I really don't want to have to fight you, I just want to leave."

Fox rested his hands on his knees for a moment, he was struggling slightly but still held himself as best as he could. "I'm sorry lad but I can't. It's apart of my duty as a marine to arrest pirates."

"Why can't we just try and leave it at this? Isn't it a more peaceful solution?" Itzal countered Fox, Itzal didn't want this to go any further. "Being honest, you seem like a good person so I'd rather not fight you anymore."

Fox actually chuckled at Itzals response, "Lad, you really are a strange one aren't you?" He sighed before standing up straight again, "You really don't want us to fight anymore?" He asked, just to confirm what Itzal said. When he received a nod in response he continued.

Fox sat down and leaned against the wall, you could hear the creaking of bones as he did. Fox groaned which only confirmed it was his old bones acting up. "I'm too old for this." He muttered to himself.

He looked up to Itzal, "Get going lad, your crew is waiting for you."

Itzal gave a small smile, "You're one of those good marines after all." Before Itzal turned to go to the dock where the others would no doubt be he was stopped by Fox speaking.

"Allot of marines are good people lad. Most join to fight the scum of the world." Fox began his explanation, Itzal stood still as he listened, "Most people who join have been wronged by pirates, bandits and the like. They have good intentions at heart and they always will."

He sighed, "But there will always be the bad apples of any group. It's unfortunate that the higher you go the more corrupt it gets." Itzal slowly mulled over his words as he spoke.

"When scum rules only more scum is born." Fox smiled slightly, "The marines are by no means perfect, far from it but most people fight for justice in the world. But I know what the world is like, I've been around long enough to know."

"It is not black and white. There is good and bad on both sides. And you lad, prove there can be good on the other side of the argument." Fox gave Itzal a small salute, with that Fox stopped speaking and just watched Itzal.

"Thanks Old man, see ya!" And with that Itzal ran off in the direction of docks to where his crew would be.

Fox just watched Itzals form quickly disappear across the grounds of the facility. "Best of luck on your adventure lad, keep an open mind and heart as you go and you'll be just fine." Fox murmured to himself, he smiled softly to himself, "I look forward to hearing of your adventures."

* * *

Rob stood surrounded by marines but having an absolute blast. Every marine that came his way was taken down by a single punch or kick. They all moved in a predictable manner making this easy for him but they were grunts so what were you expecting? He was basically taking as much heat as he could to stop them targeting Zarina but a few still would go after her.

"Oi Zarina! Heads up, you got marines climbing aboard!" Rob called out to her as he continued to beat down any marine that came his way. Defending the docks and taking nearly all the marines head on. That's Rob for ya!

A few marines had diverted their attention to Zarina, Rob suspected that they went after Zarina because of what he was doing to their comrades, they didn't want to meet the same faith.

Zarina stood on the deck of the ship they were going to commandeer, rapier drawn standing waiting for the marines. She was dreading a fight, she wasn't in the best of shape to be fighting let alone fighting for any sort of extended period of time. Although, she could use this to take out some of her frustration with everything that has happened.

The first marine climbed over the side of the ship and charged her, she steeled her nerves and waited for him to close in, other marines were slowly climbing over the side as she did.

As the marine closed in he held the sword above his head, going to strike from above. Zarina , rather gracefully, side stepped the marine, twirled to the side even further and slash the marine across his thigh causing him to fall forward clutching his thigh as he screamed in pain.

She turned to face the next marine that was coming her way. What came next was three marines instead of one.

Zarina, gracefully, stepped forward to intercept them. She subtly dodged the first marines sword swing by bowing under the strike before slashing his shin causing him to fall quickly like the first.

The next marine that followed went for another overhead slash which Zarina swiftly side stepped as well, this time she struck the marines hand that was holding the sword. Slashing the back of his hand causing him to hiss in pain, drop his sword and look toward his bleeding hand.

Using this distraction Zarina struck the marine in the back of the head with the hilt of her rapier effectively rendering him unconscious.

The marine after this one didn't cease his charged and swung his sword horizontally at chest height. Zarina twisted her rapier so she was holding it backwards, held the rapier with both hands and dropped down to dodge the blade but she dropped the rapiers tip into the foot of the marine.

He yelled in pain, Zarina quickly jumped to her feet again but brought the hilt upward, uppercutting the marine with her hilt, knocking him unconscious and backwards.

It was clear Zarina was fighting with her wits, grace and accuracy, she had no where near the power Itzal or Rob had but she fought smart. She moved like she was dancing, weaving between strikes and striking at key areas, either ones that would temporarily disable her foe or cause severe pain which gave her an opening to finish them off.

However, even that small display was somewhat taxing. Zarina whipped a bead of sweat from her brow, she wasn't in the best physical shape. She hadn't need to do anything like this before and she never thought she would have to.

' _Note to self, get back into a fit, healthy and good shape again when we get out of here..._ ' Zarina thought to herself as she stepped away from the sides of the ship, waiting for the next small group that came for her.

She didn't have to wait long.

The next group climbed over the railing of the ship, swords drawn. They all charged her like the first group, climbing over their comrades to get to her.

"They don't learn do they?" Zarina sarcastically muttered to herself, commenting on the fact they mindlessly charged her despite their comrades being beaten in the same manner.

Zarina readies her rapier for another small confrontation before stepping toward her foes.

Back with Rob by the docks the marines just kept coming one after another, with no end in sight, not that Rob minded. He was having fun either way.

Dodging, blocking and weaving around every sword strike with relative ease before kick, punching and even headbutting anyone who got to close.

What did worry Rob was the fact a number of marines were slipping by to go after Zarina, he needed to think of a way to get all these marines further from their ship to give her some breathing room.

He had one idea in mind, one that gave more bonuses than just distracting the marines.

Rob grinned at the idea and turned his gaze to a large portion of the marines but before he could do anything he was interrupted.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

A small ball landed in the centre of the group before exploding, sending numerous marines flying and tumbling in all directions, temporarily stopping and stunning anyone who was hit by their flying comrades.

Rob looked across the destruction to see Itzal running up to him, he smiled. "What took you so long?" He cheekily asked his Captain.

"I got a bit lost, distracted and sidetracked." Itzal replied simply, "You?" He was asking about what he was up to if Rob had to guess.

"Commandeered a ship, prepared it, defended it." Rob quickly replied since the marines were no longer stunned and were slowly gathering themselves to charge both Itzal and Rob this time. "Ready to sail on your word, Zarinas already on board."

Itzal smiled before joining Rob for the fight that was coming their way, "We need to wait a bit longer, I got a plus one with me." Rob nodded, he might not know how or who this person was but if Itzal said someone was with him than who was he to question it.

"I'll be back." Rob said, in an oddly masculine manner, as if quoting a movie. This time is was Itzal who nodded before Rob ran passed him toward another docked ship, leaving Itzal to fend off the marines for a bit.

A few of the marines noticed Rob run off, "There! After him as well! We got him on the run!" One of them, so wrongly, called out before a large portion of them went after him.

This only helped divide their forces so nobody was complaining.

He jumped aboard another ship, this one the size of a frigate.

" **Dragon Claw!"**

Rob charged the mast of the ship and complete shatter the mast as he struck it with his claw. The mast cracked and snapped before finally falling forward along the ship further destroying the ship.

The marines that followed him climbed over the railing just in time to see the mast rock the ship as it landed. Rob turned to them to see their shocked faces before smiling and running off to the next ship along.

Rob was planning to disable as many ships as he could so nobody or very few could actually give chase.

He leapt from the railing of one ship to the next and again struck the mast with his claw causing the same thing to happen with this mast as the last one.

"Ah, the smell of fresh destruction. Nothing like it!" Rob joked to himself before continuing on his war path.

Back aboard the commandeered ship Zarina was getting very tired. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, she seemed rather breathless from her fight, clutching her stomach, hunched over slightly trying to catch her breath and down on one knee. So far she had defeated roughly sixty marines but she couldn't really do much more than that. She wasn't used to this sort of thing, while Itzal and Rob were beating down marines by the hundreds without much effort, Zarina couldn't do much more than she has.

"Those two are monsters…" Zarina breathlessly muttered to herself.

She looked up to see only two more marines rushing her. She gritted her teeth waiting to try and attempt to defend herself. The closer marine went for another over head strike, Zarina was about to try and defend it but before she could the marine was struck in the face by the hilt of a sword causing him to collapse.

Zarina looked at the figure that saved her to find an oddly different marine standing beside her, pistol in one hand, sword in the left. The other marine that was charging her stopped in his tracks as the marine that saved her held a pistol in his direction.

"Off." Was all the marine said to the other. The attacker dropped his sword, turned and dived over the edge of the ship into the water below. What a coward right?

Zarinas savoir sheathed his sword turned to Zarina and held out his hand to help her up, "You okay?" He asked, sounding concerned for her well being.

Zarina didn't take his hand and stood up on her own, "Who might you be?" She asked suspiciously and cautiously. She wasn't going to fall for any sort of trick, she kept her rapier held tightly if he was to try anything.

The marine backed up, "I'm Rose Francis, I'm escaping with you."Francis explained, "I know your captain, Itzal. He said I could go."

Zarina raised an eyebrow, before groaning slightly, "Firstly, I am not apart of his crew, I'm just ship hoping. Secondly, how do you know about Itzal?" Of course Itzal would call her a crew mate, it was a nice gesture to be welcomed so easily but she was _not_ a pirate.

"I ran into him earlier and he said he could get me off this island. I just want out of here." Francis explained himself, turning and walking toward the helm of the ship. "I'm going to navigate us out of here and to the nearest island." He pointed his pistol to a small pile of navigational equipment laying her the helm. Francis must have boarded the ship and dropped the equipment to help Zarina once he saw her in trouble.

Zarina slowly walked over to one of the railings to lean on it slightly, "As long as you don't try anything I'm happy to get out of here." Zarina commented.

Francis shook his head, "I'm not blowing my chance to get off this island by doing something stupid like that." He sounded very sincere by his tone, "Besides, you'd have to be stupid to try anything on Itzal from what I've seen."

Zarina sweat dropped at the comment, Francis only knew Itzal for at most an a few hours and even he could see what Itzal was capable of. "That is very true." She agreed with Francis, wait until he sees Rob by his side as his first mate, that would be a real party wouldn't it?

"Traitor!" A voice yelled from the railing, Francis and Zarina turned to see a marine standing there with a rifle aimed at Francis. Francis remained still, he near any sudden movements would end up getting him shot but he also knew he couldn't just stand here either.

Zarina couldn't do much against a rifle, she was too far away and she didn't have the energy to rush him from across the deck of a brig sized ship. All she could do was hope Francis had a plan.

Luckily for them they didn't need one.

The marine swiftly punched in the face, knocking him off his feet before he was grabbed by the leg and tossed overboard into the water. A rather quick end to that situation.

Francis and Zarina sighed gratefully that _Itzal_ had come and taken care of the marine for them.

"Thanks." They both said in unison as Itzal walked over to join them. He smiled at them both before turning his attention to the defeat marines on deck.

"You did all this Zarina? That's impressive." Itzal complemented her efforts in defending herself and the ship. She didn't seem to be the strongest fighter in the world but she was still skilled and dangerous in her own right. "Are you okay though?"

Zarina just gave a tired thumbs up, she wasn't in the best of moods right now so she was best to be left alone for the moment. As long as everyone was alright it was good.

" **Prisoner Prayer!"**

A long metal chain formed from Itzals hand, laying in a pile by his feet. Both Francis and Zarina were confused as to what he was doing but quickly realized once Itzal started.

He controlled the chain and wrapped it around the legs of the defeated marines before hoisting them into the air, moving them to above the water and released them, effectively clearing the deck.

"Lets go!" Itzal spoke turning to Francis who nodded as he took hold of the helm, Itzal glanced around the ship to see what he had to do to release the sail, once he found the rope he unfurled the sails causing the ship to begin moving.

Francis turned the ship so they were heading for the exit to the lagoon.

Zarina raise an eyebrow, turning to Itzal, "What about Rob?" She asked wondering where he disappeared to. As far as she knew he wasn't aboard.

Itzal smiled, "He's coming." Was all Itzal replied with. That was oddly confident.

As the ship was about to pull away from the dock they heard gun fire, causing Francis and Zarina to duck for cover but the gun fire wasn't directed at them.

They all turned to the source of the comotion to see the marines firing at Rob, who stood atop the mast of a ship. A mast that was now falling toward their ship, luckily it was in no danger of hitting their ship.

Rob ran along the falling mast before leaping off the end as it hit the water before landing with a thud aboard their ship.

Rob got up and grinned, "Told you I'd be back." Itzal just smiled at his comrade showing up were as Zarina and Francis just looked at him wondering why he needed to make such a grand entrance.

The ship soon was at the open to the river, they were officially leaving this island!

All that could be heard from the lagoon behind them was gunfire directed to their ship but it was mostly small arms fire, the screaming of marines ordering them to prepare ships for chase while others yelled about destroyed ships.

It sounded like Chaos. Beautiful.

The ship was now in the river, the river itself was moving slightly faster making it so the ship was moving faster as well, a great combination of wind and sea power. A helpful boost.

"Alright Itzal," Francis called over, "Where do I steer the ship to? The nearest island or something a little further out?" Honestly, Francis didn't really care where he went, he was free so once he got to the next island he was out of here, off to make a home for himself somewhere in the East Blue.

Itzal thought it over for a second, "Do you have a map for me to see? I'd rather see what islands lay ahead of us." A fair point, Itzal wanted to head in the direction of the Grandline so any island that was in that direction was a good choice.

Francis nodded over to the pile of navigational equipment beside him, "There's a map in there for you to use." Itzal swiftly made his way over to the pile to find the map while Rob walked over to Zarina.

"You alright? You look winded to say the least." He knew she'd be alright, she was tougher than she thought she was, but he might as well be polite and ask.

"I'm fine," She sighed, "I _will_ be fine once I get some rest. Thank you." She politely replied, odd how the people who ask about her well being are pirates. Most people wouldn't normally give a damn but pirates actually cared? Odd to say the least.

Itzal rummaged through the pile in search of a map but he couldn't find it, "Uh Francis, I don't see it here." Itzal scratched his cheek.

"Hang on, take the helm for a second." Itzal moved over and took the helm from Francis while Francis rummaged through the pile. As the seconds went by he became for frantic in his search. After a few seconds he stopped, "I could have sworn I got one!" He yelled to mostly himself, he wasn't trying to defend himself but trying to reassure himself he got it.

Rob and Zarina watched as Itzal and Francis looked around the helm for this mystery map.

"Any bets we lost the map." Zarina asked Rob, she had a feeling with their combined luck they were obviously going to lose the map.

"I think your righ-" Rob quickly stopped speaking, he had this weird feeling for some reason. He looked around the deck of the ship for a moment but he couldn't find the source of this weird feeling. He looked up and paused for a moment before smirking.

Found it.

"Actually," Zarina turned to Rob to see him looking up for some reason, "I think we have a map thief." Robs smirk was odd given the statement, it could prove to be bad if they didn't have a map. Zarina looked at Rob and than looked to where he was looking.

She deadpanned, "Oh…"

Itzal and Francis stood by the helm, Francis scratching his head, "I could have sworn I grabbed a map." Just in that moment something landed on the railing in front of them.

Both men looked rather surprised by what they saw.

Sitting on the railing was a small monkey with white fur with dark rough skin, yellow eyes and a long thin tail.

"Chi Chi!" The little monkey chirped at them before hopping up and down.

Than is when Francis noticed what he was holding. "Seriously?" He asked himself, he tapped Itzal on the shoulder and pointed to the monkeys hands.

In its hands was a rolled up piece of paper which Francis knew for a fact was the map he _knew_ he brought.

The monkey suddenly jumped from the railing over the Itzals legs before scrambling up his body, coming to rest on his shoulder. Itzal grinned and rubbed the monkey with his finger, he didn't seem bothered by the little critter, he actually thought it was rather funny.

The rest of the group watched as the little monkey shuck with delight before extending his hand with the map and giving it to Itzal. "Chi Chi!" It repeated.

Itzal took the map and immediately gave it to Francis, "Looks like you did bring the map after all." He joked as Francis took it off him. "Looks like we'll need to think of a name for this little fella." Itzal tagged on at the end.

We got ourselves a pet it would seem.

Even Francis smiled at the idea of the monkey playing with the map, he opened it and showed it to Itzal. "We're here." He pointed to a spot on the ocean, "This is where the island would be located on the map, so our best bet would be to go to Tear island... " He stopped as he examined the map further, "Yes, it's a good distance from here but also close enough that we can reach it in a day.

The ship had been on the move for a minute or so now and now they were nearing the exit of the river leading to the open ocean thanks to the boost from the fast moving river.

Itzal inspected the map, he saw that the island was leading them to the Grandline, according to the map anyway, so that's where he wanted to go. "Alright, set course for Tear Island!" Itzal called out energetically. To which francis nodded, Rob smiled and Zarina grinned.

They'd made it out there in one piece. A good day all round.

Next stop, Tear island.

* * *

By the edge of the pier stood Fox gazing out to the open of the river. He stood solemnly, calming, almost peaceful in the silence of the night.

"Commander Fox!" A voice called out from behind, Fox didn't reply, instead just waiting for him to continue. "We are unable to give chase at this time but we do have photos of the individuals involved in the incident, including the traitor. Shall we get their wanted posters out as soon as possible?"

Fox paused for a moment and continued to gazed out to the river and jungle that surrounded it.

"Uh Sir?" The marine muttered, confused as to why he wasn't being given the go ahead to post bounties.

Fox sighed and then replied, "Negative, only post the wanted posters of the two pirate men involved. Do not post bounties of the lady and the young lad Francis."

The marine was stunned, "But sir, why not?" Why would he not want the enemies of the Marines to be found and captured.

"This would be their only mistake. Those two might not ever do anything wrong after this, they could become outstanding citizens if they had not that got caught up in this mess. In fact, they might just go into hiding and if they do they don't deserve a bounty constantly haunting them for the rest of their lives. Give them a chance." Fox explained, "But the other two lads, Itzal and his red haired friend on the other hand I suspect won't be disappearing from the public eye any time soon so put a bounty on those two. But only those _**two**_." Fox certainly made it clear about who he wanted bounties on.

With that, Fox said no more. The marine waited for a moment, considering his Commanders words before saluting and running off to complete his orders.

Fox remained still, watching, breathing, thinking. "I'm as fair as I can be lad. I gave everyone a fair chance here but I can do no more." He smiled fondly, "Best of luck to ya, young Captain."

* * *

 **Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the** _ **fake**_ **update the other day. All I did was remove the beginning 'info' chapter and fix another chapter and it classified it as an update. Sorry about that one!**

 **Secondly, this was one hell of a task to write something like this in the time I had. I only recently finished my exams and then wrote this monster? That took some effort to get this out as quickly as I did.**

 **Thirdly, I'm currently in New York for two weeks so I won't be able to write during that time. (Well at least I might not be able to, I'll still try of course.) So the next update might be some time away. Not much I can do about that, sorry!**

 **I also felt like adding a few movie quotes in there just for fun. Can you find any?**

 **It was also my birthday recently so I got distracted. R.I.P**

 **(Thanks again to everyone who has beta-read so far and to everyone who is willing to as well! I'm continually grateful for the support.)**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	7. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 7)

**Chapter 7 - A New Face**

* * *

The sun began to rise upon the horizon, light poured forth across the sea causing it to shimmer in the early stages of the dawn. A beautiful sight to see.

Our ragtag team of pioneers and pirates had all rested, ever so slightly, from the island they had just escaped a mere few minutes beforehand. Itzal stood at the helm of the ship, sailing in the direction Francis had told them to head, his little monkey friend was simply rolling around by his feet having a great time just tumbling about. Something Itzal was amused by watching the antics of their little partner. However, Itzal really wanted to explore this huge ship though but he had to first make sure they'd made it away safely first. He had all the time in the world to explore it later once they made it to their destination but until then he'd focus on the task at hand.

Francis was stood only a few feet away, analysing the map as closely as possible, he'd seen this map many times but this time he seemed to analysis it for another reason, from a different mind set. One he didn't do see when he was stuck on that island, he was deep in thought about future plans.

Zarina sat by the railing of the ship closer to the bow, back against the railing, head down, breathing slowly and rather calmly. She was obviously still a bit shook up by what she had just done, her nerves must be getting to her and she was rather exhausted, she had never had to do something that her entire life. She held out for much longer than she thought she would both physically and emotionally during that whole endeavour.

Rob had ventured off to back of the ship to keep watch for a bit to make sure they weren't being tailed, he'd move off once he was certain they'd put enough distance between them and the island so that they couldn't be easily followed. That and he was thinking about what had transpired on the island, he had a question or two he'd like answered at some stage but for now it was fine. He was eventually going to have to change his shirt seeing as his was currently shredded but for now he just kept watch with a humored smirk on his face.

A silence had descended on the ship for a bit, a pleasant one at the very least.

Zarina finally stood up, slowly, and made her way toward Itzal, Francis and the ships cabin. She was tired, covered in filth and stressed as hell, as she neared Itzal and Francis they both turned to her.

"You okay Zarina?" Itzal spoke up as he watched her climb the steps up to them.

"Tired, sweaty and could you a place to gather my thoughts in peace." She rapidly fired off her response, she walked passed them to the door leading to the cabins and the steps inside leading further into the ship. "I'm going to get some rest if I can."

"Take as much time as you need! Francis said we have awhile before we get to the next island anyway." Itzal, cheerfully, replied, Francis nodded as well to confirm what Itzal had said. Although Itzal sounded so positive he was still concerned about Zarina of course but he'd let her take care of herself unless she asked for help.

She nodded to both Itzal and Francis, "I'll see you both after I've rested and changed."

However before she left Itzal quickly spoke up, turning over his shoulder to see her before she walked through the cabin door, "Hey Zarina," which caught her attention, "what do you call a group of apes?" Zarina and Francis just gave him a puzzled look, where did that come from?

Regardless of the out of the blue question Zarina answered, "It's called a shrewdness of apes in old times or a more modern way of phrasing it is a pack or colony of apes but it can also depend on the region they're found it as to what locals might refer to them as."

Itzal nodded, "Alright, thanks. That's good to know."

Zarina and Francis just gave him one more weird look before just moving on from the conversation.

With that she opened the door and disappeared into the cabin for some much need recovery.

* * *

As soon as the door closed Zarina leaned her back against it and tilted her head back till she could feel the door. She continued to take deep breaths in an effort to rid herself of this awful nervous feeling in her gut. Her mind was a mess right now, racing with consequences of their actions. She imagined herself being hunted for the rest of her life for this, just to know one of the many possibilities.

She held one hand to her beating heart while the other held tight to her rapier. What was she going to do? Where would she hide? Could she hide? Because running wasn't an option seeing as she was caught so quickly while trying to flee.

' _Out of the frying pan and into the fire._ ' Zarina pessimistically thought to herself, she went from being sent to prison to being tracked, hunted and killed for her actions. There was no doubt in her mind that people would come for her given what she knows and now what she has done to upset the World Government.

Rest would help clear her worried mind and allow her to come up with a solution to this. She'd try again tomorrow.

* * *

Itzal and Francis returned to manning the ship and scanning over the map. After a brief moment of silence after the odd exchange Francis piped up, "You know you're going to need a bigger crew than just two guys." Francis advised Itzal, "Actually you two could clearly take care of yourselves." He added on with a bit of humor, referring to Itzal and Rob. After seeing some of the destruction they could do they'd be alright on their own if they really wanted to be.

They can handle the trouble they _will undoubtedly_ cause.

Itzal chuckled, "Yeah, we're going to need a few more before we hit the Grandline." He pondered for a moment, "Maybe a Helmsman or a Doctor would be nice." A helmsman would certainly help navigate through the dangerous waters. Besides, Itzal knew he wasn't good at sailing, he was good enough to keep a ship straight but better leave that sort of thing to the professionals and a doctor is just something you need. Injury was expected, apart of the life of a pirate Itzal supposed. He'd have to fight whether he wanted to or not sometimes and it would help to have a doctor to patch up the serious wounds.

Francis decided to continue his questioning, he wanted to know more about other people's plans for the future, he himself didn't have any plans, he never thought he'd get off that island before being shipped off as a disposable grunt to who knows where. "Heading to the Grandline? Why there?"

The ship gently rocked on the soft waves of the sea, the early sun had risen to a point on the horizon. Giving light to the world and completely banishing the traces of the night.

"It's where I have to go." he began vaguely, "I have a dream Francis, a dream to top all dreams, it will take a journey across the world to fulfill that dream and I need to get to the Grandline to begin that journey." His smile grew bigger, "Ever since I was young I had dreamed of freedom, to be free of where I was trapped and held. I wanted nothing less to be the freest man in the world. And the Pirate King is that title and to become Pirate King, you need the One Piece."

Francis was rendered speechless. It was so similar to how he felt being trapped on that island. But Itzal felt that same feeling just thousands of times stronger.

He was going to try and become the Pirate King of all things by finding the single greatest treasure to have been conserved. The most powerful man to have ever lived, that is what the Pirate King represents, the One piece being the key to that title. That was a ludicrous dream, unachievable. Countless people have tried and died for that even attempting that and yet here was Itzal, going to do the same as many before him.

Itzal was going to chase that dream, Francis could feel the spirit in his words, his actions and his attitude.

Itzal was going to become Pirate King by finding the One Piece or die trying.

"You know how impossible that is right? There is no way in hell anyone will ever become Pirate King." He didn't mean to sound so negative but he'd heard stories of the Pirate King and what they had to do, it was truly immense.

Itzal just waved it off with a grin, "It'll stay impossible if nobody tries."

Again, Francis didn't have a counter to that. He was right after all, what could he say to that? A simple but completely true argument.

Francis glanced at his map, looking at all the destinations scattered across it and than looked back to Itzal. He was somewhat envious of him, Itzal had a destination, motivation and a goal set in mind, despite how insane it was it was still something to dedicate your life to.

Francis didn't have any of that. His family would be angered and upset by his desertion of the marines, he couldn't go back to them because they were a family of marines themselves. He was more than likely a wanted man now, his own family was his enemy. He has nothing, no money, no family, no goal, no destination, no nothing. Francis had never thought he'd make it to freedom but once he got it he had no idea what to do.

"What about you? Any dream you want to fulfill? A life's ambition?" Itzal asked, it was a fair question since Francis had been asking the same of him.

Francis momentarily froze, "No," He mulled over his thoughts, "I don't." A simple and somewhat disheartening answer.

Itzal wasn't having it, "Come on!" His sudden volume and spirit startled Francis, he was very lively. "You have to have some kind of inner desire, some sort of passion. Even if you don't dream during the day you dream at night so tell me what your dream is! Because everyone has one no matter how big or how small." For someone Francis had just met he was far more straightforward and genuinely nice it was actually a surprise to him.

Francis gave a vacant stare out to the sea ahead, his breathing soft. He search both in mind and soul, trying to come up with an answer. Francis didn't really have a dream right away, maybe he wouldn't have one at all but like Itzal said, he won't unless he tries. Vaguely similar to what Itzal had said.

Itzal just went back to watch the direction the ship was heading, he would wait and let Francis answer of his on will. Someone's dream or passion isn't something you just rush, you find it, want it, help it grow and than go after it, and finally achieve it.

A peaceful silence swept over the ship once again. A silence that lasted more than an hour, Itzal just focused on the ship. Well mostly, his little monkey partner was distracting as it jumped and rolled about, scurrying up and down his arms and legs. Quite literally monkey business. Francis just remained silent as he gazed out to sea, he was so far gone the map almost slipped from his grasp more than once.

Itzal sensed an approaching figure and turned to look over his right shoulder but was quickly drawn back to Francis.

"Chishiki no kuni." Francis blurted out, Itzal turned back to Francis with a raise eyebrow.

"What?" A fair question, there was no way Itzal would know what that was.

"The Land of Knowledge." Francis began his explanation, "It's a legend passed down for generations for years. It's mainly marines that hear of the legend or even speak of it." Francis turned to Itzal, you could see the shift in his body language. Francis was somewhat more lively when speaking about this, which got a small unnoticeable grin from Itzal.

"When I was a kid I'd heard the legend from other recruits and the like. It is said to be an old World Government facility built somewhere remote in the New World. A place where all secrets are kept, it was told that only the highest most important individuals know of its existence but rumors always spread." Francis gave a small light hearted laugh, a small genuine smile stuck to his face.

"When the _great war_ took place, the powers at the time all fell one after another, this facility was lost to time with them. Inside, there is said to be a vault that contains the worlds most valued resource." Francis paused, perhaps to add suspense, "A Grand Library. A library said to contain the world's greatest knowledge… and its darkest secrets."

Francis laughed, "I suppose that would be my dream. To find that place, Chishiki no kuni. It's funny, I always was a nosy kid growing up, always wanting to know about people, I never liked people hiding in the shadows. I suppose that's why I love navigation as well. There is no where in this world that can hide from me, it's the curiosity and the danger that attracts me to secrets and forbidden places."

Itzal was silent, that really did sound like an amazing place to go. It would mean you'd have to search high and low for all clues throughout the world just to find this place. Incredible to think of such a place.

"Than chase it." Itzal finally spoke up, his expression dead serious.

Francis went silent and leaned his head back to stare at the brightening sky above, the clouds sailing past so silently, peacefully. "I can't." He sighed, "I'm not that adventurous for a journey like that. Besides, I have to go into hiding for awhile because I'm sure as hell that I'm a wanted man now. So until things calm down I'm just going to have to stay put on an island somewhere."

Francis' expression changed, you could see that passion drain from him the more he talked about giving it up. Itzal just watched his movements, studied his facial expressions. Itzal may be a bit naive to how the world might work but he knew people well enough. Francis would need time to clear his head.

"Go rest, it was one hell of a day wasn't it?" Itzal chirped up suddenly and rather happily, getting a small grin from Francis. Itzal wouldn't let the mood dampen would he?

Francis, however, was going to protest. "I'm fine, besides I still need to navigate you to Tear island, we don't want to overshoot it and sail by." He tried to argue, a fair point.

Itzal countered him, "Just go rest for an hour or so. We all need some rest, we'll take shifts manning the ship. I'll take the first ship and Rob will take the second. We'll grab you for the third shift, that sound good?"

"Alright, fine but I want to check in every now and then to make sure our heading is still the same, so _wake me_ every now alright?" When he got a nod from Itzal he relented and moved over to the cabin door.

"And I never thanked you for your help back there." He gave Itzal a grateful smile, "Thank you."

"Any time!" Itzal replied happily, his little monkey friend jumped up and down almost if trying mimicking Itzals response. Francis nodded once more before disappearing into the cabin and than below deck for some rest.

Itzal turned back to the bow of the ship, keeping the heading Francis had given previously.

"You heard all that?" Itzal said as if to nobody, but it wasn't a nobody as he sensed someone there the whole time. Knowing he was, obviously, found out Rob stepped around from the side of the cabin and walked over to Itzal.

"What can I say? I didn't want to disturb that conversation and I was interested myself." He sat on the railing besides the helm of the ship and leaned back and used one of his arms to support himself on the railing. "Hell of a speech there Itzal, must say I'm impressed." Rob poked a bit of fun at it but his tone of voice meant he was genuine about it, it really was a good small speech to hear.

Itzal just chuckled, "Yeah," He smiled sheepishly, "I just thought I'd make something to help Francis out there. I mainly just said things I'd learned as a kid from people at the monastery."

"Nothing wrong with that." Rob shrugged it off, "So are we actually going to wake him in an hour?" Rob asked but he kind of already knew that was a small white lie.

Itzal again smiled sheepishly, "Give him a bit longer, yeah?" His answer got a smirk from Rob.

"On your orders." Rob just dropped the subject like that. "And don't worry, when I take the helm you can explore the ship. I have a feeling you want to check her out? She is a fine ship after all."

"Yep." Was his simple answer.

"So what do you think the next island will hold for us?" Deciding to throw out a random topic, wondering what Rob might know or have insight about.

Again, Rob shrugged, "Don't know, from what I've heard it's a nice place Tear island. Friendly locals, welcoming and such. Some say it is so nice and friendly there people usually stay. Mostly depends on what day you arrive apparently." Now the last part was kind of vague, what did he mean by what day you arrive?

"What do you mean what day you arrive? What does that have to do with anything?" Itzal continued to question. An odd statement.

"I've heard rumors that the place is notorious for pirates to raid. A raiding hot spot, nearly nobody there is a fighter and there is no marine presence in the blue seas so they're on their own and on their own they don't stand a chance against any sort of pirate attack." Rob explained, "But those are just rumors, there has been no calls for help or messages to other islands for assistance. I was actually going to be heading there after I completed one more job, get some money and find a ship to ship hop there. I was going to check it out for myself and see if it was true."

Itzal furrowed his brow, would nobody actually care to go and check on the folks of that island "How would a rumor like that spread without there being a small scrap of truth? Surely someone would have checked by now if that were true right?"

"You're right, I heard that some people from other islands have gone to check but they send back letters to their home islands claiming it's fine but they don't return home themselves." That was strange, people go out of their way to check on the sake of another island but don't return to their own friends and families?

"We could check our current stoke, resupply and check the ship for anything it might need for the journey ahead." Rob said, changing the conversation. No use worrying over possibilities that might never even happen right?

"Besides," Rob smirked, "You're going to need to name the ship." This caused Itzal to smile along with Rob. "You'll need a name for the ship and a flag to call our own. So get that creativity going. I don't want to sail around on a nameless ship, its bad luck not to."

"I'll get right on that!" Itzal joked, time to really start this journey. He had a ship and crewmates, well Itzal considered them all crewmates, and a name for the crew. His journey has almost begun. When he reaches the redline and enters the Grandline, than his journey truly begins. Itzal could barely contain his excitement it was written all over his face.

* * *

The sailing for the rest of the day had been rather uneventful, although they were lucky considering the winds were with them this day. Rob had mentioned the fact that following the winds direction wasn't always the best as most people follow the path of least resistance so if the marines were to give chase they would use the wind to track them. He only mentioned it just so Itzal could learn about that tidbit of information, after Itzal and Rob took the first few shifts, not bothering to wake Francis right away when he asked. However, he got himself up several hours later rather annoyed. He first gave the two _fools_ a good spiel before checking their current heading. It was off, if only just so Francis took the helm and readjusted their heading. Zarina had finally joined them by the helm after her much needed rest. She seemed much better than she had been before so that was a relief to them all. She mostly remained silently, only asking for information on the island, she knew enough of the island herself from reports and files about it but Robs information proved both new and surprising to her as she'd never heard about the rumors Rob mentioned. The other topic of discussion was how much longer until they reached the island and what exactly they should do until than. The first thing to pop up was food and it wasn't by asking but the rumbling of more than of few stomachs, which got a laugh from Rob and Itzal as well as an embarrassed expression from Zarina and a sheepish look from Francis.

"So it looks like we're all hungry, so any ideas on what we should cook?" Rob asked after he'd calmed down, "If any of us can actually cook without burning down the ship." He added with a bit of humor. Odd how burning down the ship your sailing on was funny to Rob.

"I can cook but only the basics." Francis volunteered, "Mostly basic survival rations but food is food. We can get actual _good_ food on the island but until then I'll get us something."

"Alright! If you need any help ask!" Itzal said as he was about to move to take hold of the helm but was intercepted by Rob who took hold of the helm instead.

He smirked, "I got it Itzal, besides, you want to explore the ship right?" rob replanted the idea in his head. Itzal gave him a good strong pat on the back. Francis and Zarina recoiled slightly, if that had been a _normal_ human that took the hit that would have hurt.

Itzal smiled and turned to the cabin, his little monkey scurried up his leg and arm and came to rest on his left shoulder, chirping happily to itself. "I'll see yous in a bit than."

Itzal went off into the cabin, to venture down into the depths of the ship. Francis followed him into the cabin but would veered off toward the kitchen and dining area.

Rob just turned back to the sea ahead of them, however, he noticed Zarina hadn't moved yet. She just stood looking out to the open ocean, her hand on her rapier, gently rubbing the hilt with her thumb, almost in a sentimental manner, her other hand rested in her pocket. Now Zarina seemed to be more the quiet member of a group, listening over speaking, chiming in when she had something of value to add so her being quiet wasn't odd but it was more the far gone expression she had. Usually she kept a neutral expression, one that gave nothing away, she'd be excellent at poker but right now you could almost read her like a book.

Her expression simply read, _reminiscing of the past_.

"You'll be fine." said Rob, he could have sworn she jumped slightly before she glanced his way. She had clearly been caught off guard so she shifted on the spot, she didn't like being caught like that.

"You seem confident about that, how would you know? Are you psychic?" Her tone came off very snarky, perhaps more so than intended.

Rob just gave a small chuckle, "Call it a gut feeling." He said rather cryptically, what the kind of response was that?

Zarina decided to humor this small discussion, "How accurate is that gut of yours?"

"Well, it has _never_ failed me when I need it."

Zarina turned her body to fully face Rob and huffed to herself, "It's not you it will fail." She countered, however his response surprised her.

"I know, my gut tells _me_ you'll be alright, so I know you'll be alright." The somewhat cocky smirk on his face said, 'Check, your turn.', which she didn't like.

"Well, you never know, your gut might fail you this time if it's banking on me being alright. Besides, it all depends on what this island throws at me, I'll have to figure out where I'll go from here." Maybe a bit too much to admit to, she basically said, I have no confidence in my ability to survive all this.

Time for the checkmate, "From what myself and Itzal saw back on that island, you did just fine. Outsmarted and out fought nearly every man there. If you can do that you can survive just fine."

With that Rob stopped his argument, to him that was checkmate. Zarina on the other hand wanted nothing more than to cut down that argument with logic and reason as to why he was wrong but she was starting to understand Rob as a character.

She knew by now it was useless to try and pierce that thick skull of his, so , much to her disdain, she'd drop the argument and find peace inside the cabin in the dining area. She'd take what peace she could find aboard this ship, she had a feeling this ship might not have many peaceful moments in the future.

Now if the crew were lucky they'd reach Tear island in the space of an hour or two. The wind giving them a significant boost to their speed, without that wind they'd be arriving at night again but now, with the progress they've made, they would be there by late evening. So until then they'd spend the time getting something to eat.

After an hour Francis had called them all for dinner. Now it wasn't exactly great, most of the food, which consisted of steaks, fish and what little fresh veg Francis could find, was above tasteless, some of the food was rather dry too but it was eatable so not much you can say there.

Before all that though, Rob joined them, he had disappeared into the crew quarters in search of a new shirt since his was shredded. All he found was a deep blue casual dress shirt, suited him just fine. He'd prefer a red, white or black one but blue works too.

Itzal had returned, but as soon he did his monkey buddy darted for a food bowl full of peanuts near Zarina, she shifted away from it before slowly digging into her food, concerned about something or other, maybe fleas or something?

Itzal took a seat but before he had tried any of the food he started off telling the rest of the crew about everything he found down below. Exploring the two sleeping quarters of the ship, finding the ammunition supplies for both firearms and cannons. Surprisingly the ship wasn't too heavily armed, it only had a total of six cannons which was small for a ship of this size. The supply room was mostly empty, had enough food for about three more days but they'd probably not last that long since they were mostly left out to rotten. The ship came with a limited amount of repair planks and tools but that all could be fixed by resupplying at the harbor.

After Itzals little explanation they all dug into the food, wasn't the nicest but it was filling. The way a marine would cook, filling over taste. During the whole thing Francis would step out to the helm to make sure the ship was still following the best heading, adjusting it slightly when needed.

When they finished since Francis had done the cooking Rob decided he'd take care of the mess, leaving Itzal, Francis, Zarina and Itzals, yet to be named, monkey buddy exited the cabin to helm, Itzal took the helm Francis and Zarina stepping off to either side of him.

Francis took out a spyglass from the inside of his jacket and explored the horizon. "Land!" He called out rather suddenly, pointing off every so slightly to the left of their current heading. The call of land drew Rob to the doorway to the cabins, joining the rest of the crew.

Itzal and Zarina squinted at the horizon, they could barely make out the shape on the horizon but it was definitely there.

Tear Island was in sight.

With the current winds they'd be there in only twenty minutes at max. At the sight of the island each of the group picked up and started moving about. Francis gathered the navigational equipment, maps and disappeared below deck to store them somewhere safe.

Zarina went down into the store rooms to gather some supplies and maybe find some kind of bag to carry somethings she might need when she strikes out on her own.

Rob just walked up to the helm and took it from Itzal as he took off up the ropes leading to the crowsnest. All Itzal wanted was a clear view, excitement once again mounting inside him.

By the time the rest of the crew had gathered atop the ship, it was within docking distance of the harbor. Zarina had appeared with a satchel bag, Francis with his own bad. Both bags had a bit of food in them and whatever else they thought they mind need. They didn't take too much because they technically considered it all Itzals possession. Both bags sat by the cabin door, ready to go when needed. Francis and Zarina stood side by side, both of them seemed tense but watched with some form of an anticipation. This was the island they'd go out on their own, try to find their way in the world.

Find somewhere to call home.

The ship slowed to a stop before they dropped anchor. The splash of the anchor was enough to put a smile on all their faces, they'd landed!

However before they could do anything a voice called out, "Hey! Is there someone I could speak to aboard this newly docked brig!"

Itzal walked across the sail mast and looked down to the wooden dock below. Right below Itzal stood a forty year old looking man. He appeared to be wearing a dock workers clothes. The sudden voice attracted the attention of the rest of the crew as Rob, Zarina and Francis all walked over to the railing to see what was going on.

"Ah! There!" The man laughed, "I'd like to inform you that you must stay aboard your ship for the night as we are in the process of unloading and unloading a fleet of ships and we won't be stopping any time soon with the shear amount of cargo we're shifting. We'd like to sincerely apologize for any delays or inconvenience."

At that statement you could see each of the crew deflate slightly, looks like they were staying aboard the ship for one more night. Itzal was the most disappointed by the fact he couldn't start exploring, his monkey partner mimicked him like a mirror. Rob was hoping to get out and stretch his legs but one more night wasn't too long a wait.

Zarina and Francis, although they were slightly disappointed they also appeared to be relieved. They had a bit more time to come up with plans before jumping ship and hoping for the best.

Rob just sat up on a railing and watched the dock and village from what he could see from here, he'd just relax here and sit through the night and keep watch. Zarina and Francis had retreated below deck to grab a bunk and prepare for departure tomorrow.

The dock worker headed off right after a small bow, Itzal kept his eyes on him as he walked further down the dock to the other ships that had all docked. From what Itzal could nearly all other ships were being unloaded. They were clearly trade ships of some kind judging by the shear amount of cargo.

At least a hundred people scurried about the dockland, shifting and unloading huge crates. Moving them between the ships and warehouse.

One individual however caught his eye, stood among them stood a, somewhat short, woman giving orders to all the workers. Itzal couldn't make out any details from this distance but what caught his eye was the giant ax she had strapped to her back. The damn thing was bigger than she was. That stuck out like a sore thumb.

Itzal gave one more glance over the whole situation before fixating on the woman again. Itzal turned from the scene with an odd feeling nagging at him, for now he couldn't do much about so he jumped from the mast, his monkey partner clinging to his shoulder, as he landed beside Rob.

"Looks like we're waiting." All Rob did was grin and tilt his hat toward Itzal.

"See ya in the morning!" and with that Itzal began his walk over to the cabin for a full night's rest.

Their adventure began tomorrow it seemed.

* * *

 **Chapter down, next one we're official onto the next adventure. Lets see what this island has in store for the rest of the crew. Lets see what interesting characters we meet on this island shall we?**

 **Thanks again to everyone who has beta-read so far and to everyone who is willing to as well! I'm continually grateful for the support.**

 **Another thank you to all of you who review my story, you're the best!**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	8. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 8)

**Chapter 8 - The Rose**

* * *

Our group of pirates and travelers had remained docked at the harbor for the night, apparently there had been a huge shipment arriving that night so the whole harbor was busy. All forms of inns and hotels were swarmed by tired sailors once the shift was up. Their shift had gone into the early morning, around 5:15am, when they could finally stop and rest.

Down the far end of the harbor in the last available place for a ship to dock was the yet unnamed ship of the Sky Pirates. The ship was mostly silent, every now and then a small tiny creak could be heard and the gently swoosh of the waves against the side.

The door to the cabins opened slowly, without a sound, and Zarina stepped through. She left the door open and moved over to the railing and looked out to both the village and the harbor as a whole.

It was still very earlier for some, it was only 6:28am so many people of the village would be resting. At the moment, the only person that seemed to be awake was Zarina.

Her appearance had changed slightly as now she had her hair loose, flowing down to her shoulders, shifting and waving at the gentle sea breeze, glasses resting atop her head. She still wore a dress shirt but this one was a light sky blue, her boots remained the same and her pants were identical to the ones she wore the day before. Her rapier still attached to her hip. Apart from that she also got herself a medium sized, navy blue, trench coat.

Despite it being medium sized she did still look a little small inside it, it was clearly a man's coat but like that really matters.

Zarina didn't say a word, she just walked slowly to the steps, dragging her fingers along the wooden railing of the ship then down the banister as she descended down the stairs.

When she reached the bottom she continued along the railing on the port side. She was calmly going through thoughts in her mind, piecing together plans for the future and events of the past.

' _What would you have done father…_ ' Zarina placed one hand on her rapier while the other gently lay on the ships railing. ' _How would you react if you saw me now, would it scare you? Would it upset you? I don't know…_ ' Zarina sighed heavily, ' _If only you were here, maybe you could give me peace of mind, some of that worldly experience of yours._ '

Zarina gave a humorless chuckle and smiled slightly, ' _You'd probably say something like, The past doesn't equal the future._ ' Her thoughts were centered on those in her past right now, her life had changed so drastically in such a short amount of time.

Her moment to herself was ruined however as a hand from the other side of the railing slapped down onto the spot right next to her.

Zarina jumped with the tiniest of yelps before stepping back from the railing and grabbing her rapier ready for what was climbing aboard.

Fortunately it wasn't an intruder as the figure pulled himself up the railing to reveal none other than Rob smirking at her. "Did I hear you yelp?"

Zarina gave him a soft glare of disdain, she didn't like being scared like that. Rob pulled himself over and up onto the ship to reveal he was drenched in water and in nothing but his boxer trunks.

Zarina raised an eyebrow, "What the hell were you doing?"

Robs smirk didn't fade, "Scaring you of course." His response didn't exactly sit well with Zarina but she moved swiftly on, however, she'd remember this moment some other time.

"I mean why are you soaked and half naked? What the hell were you doing?" She clarified, lowering her guard before folding her arms.

She took a moment to look at him, she could literally see him in full view and which allowed her to notice a few things she hadn't noticed before from her time spent with Rob so far.

Firstly was the tattoo on his left shoulder. It was a tattoo of a sea king that had a rope wrapped around the tail end with and anchor attached to the other end. The sea king went down his arm to his elbow and appeared to be dragging the anchor down with it. The tattoo was actually rather well done, very artistic and creative to a degree. A nice piece of body art if there was any.

The second thing were the scars, he had a scattering of small cuts on various parts of his body but there was one that stood out like the scar on his right eye. A claw mark that ran down from his right shoulder blade across his right pec muscle. The scar looked old but it seemed like it would have been a nasty wound, jagged and deep as if from some beast.

"Well," Rob began, which drew Zarinas attention from his tattoo and scars. "I've missed a considerable amount of my morning laps so I decided to catch up while I could." Rob explained, "The water was slightly cold but that only makes it better, shame the water was calm and easy to swim through without effort, slightly lacking there but two hours of swimming should make up for the lack of resistance."

Rob moved away from the railing, shaking off some water as he did, heading toward the bow of the ship. Zarina glanced over to the bow and saw a pile of clothes thrown haphazardly around.

Robs clothes to be specific, his boots, trousers, shirt, gloves and hat. Zarina wondered how she could have missed that detail when she arrived on deck but she'd chalk that up to her being distracted with her thoughts.

"What do you mean your _morning laps_?" Zarina continued to ask, even though she had already pieced together what he meant, "You swim a lot I assume."

"Aye, I did a couple thousand laps of the ship for the past hour or so. I was feeling off having not done them in so long so I thought I'd do it now seeing as we have the time here." A fair point, they were docked her for the night so why waste time. Might as well keep active and do something.

Zarina deadpanned, "A couple thousand?" Rob had said it so casually, to a normal person swimming was a very tiring exercise but to swim for two hours straight and do full speed laps of a ship was extreme. "Just what kind of superhuman are you…" Zarina murmured to herself.

He smirked, "Yeah, I'll catch up on the rest another time." His response only got a subtle eye roll from Zarina.

"So, what are you doing? You're up early aren't you?" Rob began as he threw on his pants and shirt.

Zarina didn't say anything, she just stood there, wordlessly watching Rob, a far gone expression on her face. She seemed to have that expression a lot recently.

"Oi Zarina!" Rob raised his voice in an attempt to get through to her, Zarina sighed at him calling her. At least he knew she heard him this time.

"Honestly," Zarina said, "I was thinking of the future. My future." That was it? That was her response? Did that even fully answer his question?

"You're still worried?" Rob asked, genuinely confused, he couldn't fathom why she was so worried.

"Well of course I'm still worried, unlike you I can't deal with the constant threat of being hunted. I have to live knowing that people will always be after me, people that I simply can't deal with on my own." Zarina, somewhat frustratedly, answered Rob.

Rob leaned down to put on his socks and boots while she continued, "Yourself and Itzal... " She trailed off for a second, "You and Itzal are both brave enough and crazy enough to dive into trouble but the both of you are strong enough and stubborn enough to dig your way out of that very same trouble no matter the cost or how bad it might get for you." Rob had finished changing as she spoke, all he had left was the hat that was by his side, he remained leaning on the ground, carefully listening to Zarina. He'd noticed she was no longer looking at him but instead out to the village instead. "I'm not like that, it's easy to tell. I was caught within a single day of trying to flee my home island, I didn't even put up much of a fight, things like that never work out for me." Rob furrowed his eyebrows at the last piece of that statement.

Rob finally stood up, starting to understand her point of view, ' _She really is that worried about the future._ ' thought Rob, "Zarina," She didn't turn to face him at the mention of her name but it was clear she was listening. "Here's some advice for you, You need to stop trying to find a path that can work for you because that will never happen." Rob said confidently and calmly, "You need to find the path you want to take in life and **make** it work. Don't wait for the right path, forge the path you want." He chuckled, "It really is that simple."

Zarina was rather quiet by that statement, a surprisingly inspiring idiom if she ever heard one.

Then she heard him sigh, "But I guess, in the end, that's up to you to decide." Rob moved over to the railing again and sat on it, throwing his legs over the other side. "Heads up," He nodded over toward the cabin, "Looks like we're ready to get a move on."

Zarina glanced over her shoulder toward the cabin, out walked both Francis, Itzal and, of course, Itzals, yet unnamed, monkey companion, perched up on his right shoulder.

"Hey! You're both up! So we're all here!" Itzal yelled over enthusiastically, giving them both a small morning greeting. Francis and Itzal both made their way down the stairs and over to their two other comrades.

"Everyone ready to go?" Everyone nodded, except Rob who gave an ' _Aye!_ ' instead. Even the little monkey chimed in with a series of happy squeaks.

"Alright, then let's get moving." Itzal moved first, jumping over the side of the ship onto the wooden dock. Zarina and Francis moved over to the side and waited as Itzal grabbed a gang plank and placed it over to the ship so Zarina and Francis could walk off. Rob just lept off the side as soon as Zarina and Francis were off.

"Hello!" a voice seemingly called to them, the group turned to see a middle aged man walking toward them. He looked to be of an average build and height, a dock worker it seemed, possibly the harbor master. "You're the crew that docked here yesterday, correct?" His tone, although a bit rough, was calm.

"Aye, that's right." Itzal replied to the dock worker, Zarina, Francis and Rob all standing behind him as they all watched the dock worker approach.

As the dock worker reached them he bowed his head slightly, "Our apologies, we didn't mean to keep you waiting here all night." He sounded genuinely apologetic, "We just couldn't risk anything happening during that time. So as an apology, you may dock your ship here without any fees."

Itzal grinned at this offer, "Thank you sir!" Itzal put his hands together and a gave a small bow of gratitude in response. That was certainly a nice little bonus just waiting, not a bad start.

With that the harbor worker turned back, heading back to his post one would assume.

Itzal turned back to the rest of the group, "Anyone have an suggestions? I'm sure there's lots to do but where do we all want to start?" Itzal grinned excitedly, his little monkey pal clapped its hands twice right after.

Rob was the first to respond, "I don't know about you but I'm going to check out the town on my own. I have a few places I usually check when I arrive on a new island." He shrugged, "And I think there are a few things we should gather, I'll grab a few things myself." He added, well at least Rob had a clue on what he was going to do.

There was a short pause in the group, "What about you two?" Itzal aimed the question at Zarina and Francis, Rob and Itzal both faced them, waiting for their response.

"Well…" Francis began, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where to start…" He sounded somewhat disappointed, he had zero plans on what to do now.

Itzal and Rob glanced between each other for a moment before looking back, Zarina spoke up next. "Would it be alright… If we tag along with you for awhile?"

That was somewhat surprising to Itzal and Rob, Zarina sounded off, that came off as almost nervous sounding, almost asking for help in her tone alone. Honestly, Zarina knew nobody here, on Tear island. She had nowhere or no one to go to for anything so for now it was wiser to stick with Itzal or Rob. At least until she had her bearings.

Itzal just smiled enthusiastically, "Of course! It would be great if yous both tagged along!" Francis lowered his head with a small smirk on his face, Zarina gave a soft smile as well. It was hard not to smile with such positive moods seemingly emanating from Itzal.

"Have fun you lot, I'll catch up to yous at some stage." Rob took off, giving the group a thumbs up as he did.

Itzal gave him a small wave, Francis and Zarina a small nodded of their head as Rob left. Leaving the others to their adventure. Rob had some plans so he'd eventually be back once he sorted all that out.

"Let's get going!" Itzal began walking, Zarina and Francis on his tail.

None of them had any plans on what to do while they were here or even have a place to start but between the three of them they'd surely figure something out.

Itzal lead the group down one of the main streets of the town. All around them the villagers scurried about, some were farmers, carrying bags of ,what they assumed to be, grain or wheat. Others were busy cleaning their shops while they were empty. Walking along theses streets you could smell freshly cooked food from restaurants somewhere in the town.

The group took their sweet time, checking out stores as they passed. From general supply stores, bookstores and jewelry stores to even a weapon store and a few market stalls on street corners. This town seemed to have a bit of everything.

More than once did Zarina have to be the voice of reason and dragged both Itzal and Francis out a store. Mainly anything with interesting trinkets in it Itzal wanted to investigate, Francis on the other hand got distracted by the idea of a new weapon. His old marine saber wasn't in good shape and his pistol wasn't exactly a great weapon for up close combat, he'd eventually have to get his hands on something new.

Zarina, being the most level headed of the group, took charge when both the guys were either being silly or stupid.

However, that also goes for Zarina. The guys had to drag Zarina out of a few bookstores much to her disdain and embarrassment. Itzal and Francis didn't do anything at first but once Zarina started to give the store owners grief over poorly handled and somewhat destroyed books they finally decided to step in.

So they just kept going for awhile, it wasn't like they had money anyway. All they could really get was anything they were willing to trade, which wasn't a lot.

As the group, jumped from store to store they eventually came to a more calm section of the town, the further from the docks one got the less hectic it got.

Itzal, Zarina and Francis came to an old style restaurant, inside the restaurant was empty so either they weren't busy or they were still in the process of opening, off to the side an older couple seemed to be moving large boxes and crates. They both seemed to be struggling a little judging by how slow and cautiously they moved.

Itzal and the gang stopped when they neared them, right as they did the couple dropped the crates on the ground with a _thud_.

The older gentleman swiped the sweat from his brow, "I look forward to the day we can retire, right love?"

His comment got an out of breath chuckle from his partner, "That would be correct." They both gave each other a tired but loving smile.

The couple looked to be in their late fifties, both had graying hair with traces of their previous hair color near the roots, dark brown it seemed. The man wore an old, worn leather jacket, a few patches here and there. A pair of old, brown loafers and chinos and a dress shirt underneath the jacket. The woman wore an old pale yellow sundress with comfortable sandals and a sun hat, her features were softer and round while her husbands were more long and sharp.

They were interrupted by Itzal however, "Hey!" He called over before jogging over to the couple, "Need any help?" Zarina and Francis quickened their paces to keep up.

The couple looked at the trio before speaking, "That's kind of you lad but we wouldn't want to bother you." He smiled fondly at them, his, one would assume, wife smiled as well.

But Itzal was having now of it, his brow furrowed, "But you're both struggling with it. If you need help you should ask." Itzal ignored the couple and went over to the two large crates, his little monkey friend jumped from his shoulder onto the ground next to him, before hauling them both up onto his shoulders, much to the amazement of the couple.

Zarina and Francis were slightly impressed but they'd seen him in action before, but it was a reminded to his strength.

"Where do you want me to put these?" Itzal said, he suspected somewhere in the store obviously.

The wife spoke up first, "Near the bar deary." She said with gratitude. Itzal moved over to the main entrance of the restaurant before turning back to the couple.

"Are there more crates?" He asked, "I'll grab them for you as well."

The couple looked at him and gave a small chuckle, the wife spoke up again. "There are more out back if you don't mind."

This time Francis joined in, "I'll grab some of them too." Zarina nodded in agreement as both of them moved off along the side of the building to reach the back.

The couple slowly made their way inside, "Thanks for the assistance you lot." The husbands said he walked inside with Itzal and his little monkey friend scrambling around his feet.

Between the three of them it only took two minutes to move all the crates inside. The couple got a laugh from Itzal.

Itzal carried in five, six or seven crates at once with ease while Francis and Zarina could only carry three and two respectively. He was accidently showing off without realizing it, which the couple got a kick out of as they saw the deadpan expressions and soft glare or two. Itzal was completely oblivious to what he was doing and to the reactions he was getting.

Once all that was out of the way the group had gathered by the counter where the couple stood on the opposite side.

"Thank you all for the help, you're very kind." The wife spoke, "Allow me to introduce ourselves. I'm Aki and this is my husband Lucius." Gesturing to herself and her husband who was currently mixing a drink. Aki continued, "As a small token for your help we'd more than happy to cook something for you, how does that sound?"

"That would be great!"

"We're very grateful, thank you."

"Thank you kindly."

Itzal, Zarina and Francis replied respectively, they got a free meal out of the deal and if the delicious smell coming from the kitchen was anything to go by the food will be excellent.

Aki ushered them over to a six seated table, gesturing them all to sit. "Please make yourselves comfortable." She said as she sat at the table with them.

Lucius had disappeared into the kitchen, if one had to guess he was the cook of the two.

The table was rectangular in shape seating six people so Itzal sat at one end while Zarina and Francis sat on his left and right side. The little monkey jumped up onto Itzals lap before rolling into a ball and just lay there, resting, eyes darting around the room.

Itzal smiled down at the little monkey, "We're going to have to name him sooner or later."

His statement got an amused smirk from Francis but both Zarina and Francis nodded in agreement.

"So," Aki spoke up from her seat next to Zarina causing everyone to glance her way. "What brought you all here to Tear Island? And more so our little restaurant?" Aki began, a soft smile gracing her face.

Zarina and Francis remained silent, Francis shifted slightly but it went unnoticed by anyone else. Neither really had any idea on what to say for the first part but that wasn't an issue. Itzal dived right in.

"We wouldn't want to bother you if you're busy!" Itzal said honestly, "If you have something else of importance that you need done we don't mind."

Aki, however, shushed him. "Not at all young man, we're not busy at all. Take your time, the only other customer that will be coming in next while is a young woman who ordered her food about half an hour ago before going off to do her business." Aki explained, "Her food should be nearing completion soon but for now we're fine."

With that barrier out of the way Itzal spoke again.

"We're resupplying before heading off to the Grandline." Zarina and Francis stiffened. If Aki asked why they were going to the Grandline and found out Itzal was a pirate they were seriously screwed. Not to mention if he told them there was another wondering around the town doing fuck knows what.

Aki quirked a brow, "Oh? Do tell, why would you be heading there?" She leaned further onto the table to get a better look at Itzal. For some reason she had a rather playful smirk on her face which went unnoticed by the rest of the group.

And that was the question…

"Oh, we're pira-" Itzals mouth was slammed shut as Francis grabbed him to cover his mouth with both his hands in an attempt to shut him up, he almost fell back in his chair Francis jumped him so quickly.

Zarina quickly sprung up, "We're privateers. We were hired to head to Grandline to give aid and support to the local islands once we pass reverse mountain." Her tone calm and convincing. The way she said it sounded so believable, it was actually harder to not believe her.

Aki let out a small giggle, "Privateers you say? My that sounds like an adventure." Aki leaned back in her seat and twisted herself to face Zarina fully.

Francis' eyes darted between the two before relenting and falling back into his chair, releasing his grasp on Itzal.

Itzal just blinked in confusion, what was that for? He didn't do anything wrong. She asked a question he was going to answer it, what was wrong with that?

"Oh yes, our line of work isn't for the faint of heart. I dare say it can be one of the more challenging choices for work." Zarina continued her sherad, time for Zarina to test her speech skills to work their way out of this one huh?

However, a , fortunate, interruption arrived. Itzal sensed something approaching the restaurant, his head swiveled to the door. Francis saw his movements and followed his gaze to the figure that had just arrived at the doorway. Impressive how Itzal sensed it before any sign of them showed up.

Before Zarina could continue Aki spoke up as she looked to the entrance. "Ah," She began as she stood up to greet the new arrival, "Miss Lovelace, your food should be ready now. Let me fetch that for you." As she began to move off toward the kitchen.

The rest of the group all watched the figure in the doorway, Itzal actually recognizing her.

The woman stood at five foot four inches, so shorter than most people. She had loosely curled copper-red hair that was kept in a half-ponytail with a robin-egg blue ribbon. Her face was round with soft features, small nose, plush lips, and round eyes. Her eyes were a pale blue. She had a light dusting of freckles on her nose and cheeks, small ears and clear skin. Her figure was slightly hourglass in shape, narrow shoulders and a C-14 bust, not that anyone could tell that right away.

She wore black, laced up, knee high combat boots with black leggings with sea blue shorts. Her top was light blue colored renaissance blouse that had a leather strap wrapper around her right shoulder and around her waist.

It was clear what the straps were for, it was the _Giant battle ax_. The was bladed on both sides, the top and bottom are curved inwards, the blade curved outwards. The pole of the weapon was thick as her arms were, and was taller than she was. The ax blade was almost as tall as her as well, from feet to shoulders, and was, certainly, broader than she was tall. A ridiculously large weapon if there ever was one.

The group just watched this odd sight for a moment before she spoke up in response to Aki.

"Thank you very much Miss!" She exclaimed rather loudly, her voice carried through the restaurant.

Things might get interesting now.

* * *

Rob had mostly finished what he was doing and was currently sat at a stool in a bar near the port. The bar was full of sailors all drinking and rough housing with each other but none of them bothering any of the other guests. Civilized rough housing.

Rob had spent the last hour organizing a few bits and pieces to be delivered to the ship, he figured Itzal would be off exploring the town and all it had to offer so he took the time to get some basic supplies for the journey. At least enough till they get to the next island. The towns folk had been nothing but helpful the whole time, so far this had been a rather pleasant visit.

Rob sat alone, just chilling at the bar counter, a shot glass in hand. He turned on the spot, back against the counter to take a good look at the bar and its _guests_.

It was your average sailor bar, nothing too fancy. Easily replaceable features if the rough housing got out of hand. A heavy scent of alcohol filled the room, a light weight would be knocked on their ass by the fumes alone.

Subtly watching the room, nothing seemed too out of place. That is until you got to the group of four that were seated nearest the door.

Four burly looking men, each with some kind of small scar on their face. Each one of them was armed with at least one sword, Rob would bet money they had guns stashed in their clothes somewhere. All dressed in black trench coats with a strange symbol printed on the back. Rob knew from past experiences what that symbol was and it wasn't good.

 _ **Slavers.**_

To most, the symbol meant nothing unless you were either in the business or one who hunted their kind for a living. Being a _former_ bounty hunter, Rob was already in the know and judging by how nobody else around him seemed to care or react, nobody else knew.

Rob just kept an eye on them for a bit longer, watching their actions. They, on the surface, didn't seem to be doing anything wrong. Just down drink after drink without a care in the world, nothing wrong with that but it was the fact they were here that nagged at Rob.

Rob shifted on his stool and turned back to the bar, Rob smirked before muttering to himself. "Looks like I'm going to cause some trouble day… " He paused, " _good_."

Rob had considered tailing them to where they were heading but that sounded tedious and somewhat boring so he planned to follow them until they got somewhere secluded before kicking the shit out of them for the answers he wanted.

It didn't take long before the group abruptly got up, knocking over glasses and cups on their table. The group walked over to the bar, right beside Rob.

"Yo barkeep!" The front man of the grouped called out, "Give us a couple bottles would ya?!" His tone didn't exactly sound very friendly but the barkeep nonetheless gave a small crate of bottles to the guy.

The front man turned to Rob and stopped, "Drinks here are great aren't they?!" He let forth an over the top laugh. The others in the group joining in too.

"Yeah, not bad at all." Rob replied, not wanting to speak with them too much. He'd rather they get their asses moving so he can do his thing.

"You got that right Red!" He laughed, obnoxiously loud this time. Again, the others joined in, finding this hilarious for some reason, it wasn't because he called him Red was it?

The front man looked at Rob again and smirked, "Ah fuck it!" He took a bottle and slammed it on the counter next to him. Luckily the thing didn't break.

"Here! A bottle on the house for ya!" Before he gave a cheer, "Lets get the fuck outta here." He continued to yell.

Rob shook his head, you could track these guys before the opposite side of the island they were that fucking loud.

The group began to make their way over to the door, 'About time…' thought Rob. He turned away from them as not to let them know he was monitoring their movements.

As the group reached the door the front man stopped. He looked down to a large bundle of paper on the ground, he looked at it confused for a moment before grinning sinisterly.

"Oi Lads." He whispered, all the other men gathered around him as he nodded over to the bundle of pages for them to look at.

It only took a moment for them all to grin and looked between each other, all of them smirking and grinning.

The group turned back and walked straight towards Rob. Now, Rob could sense they were approaching him but he attempted to play it off like he didn't notice them.

The group spread out in a semi circle in an attempt to trap Rob.

"Hey Red!" The front man from before called out to Rob to get his attention. He casually glanced over his shoulder to the front man, his hat covering his face so nobody could see Robs expression.

"Mind coming with us?" He said it like a question but they all drew their swords at his statement making it clear in their mind, they weren't asking. The bar had gone silent at all this commotion, this was a bit more than a simple rough housing.

The front man stepped forward once Rob didn't give him a reply and pointed the tip of his sword toward his neck in an attempt to intimidate him.

"Come on Red! What's your answer?" His cocky smirk seemingly got the others to chuckle between themselves.

Rob sighed, "So much for questioning them."

Within the blink of an eye Rob reached forth and shattered the sword that was against his throat with his fingertips.

The four men took a step back in surprise, they didn't even see him move. They all watched as Rob stood in front of them all.

" **Dragon Claw!"**

The group blinked and Rob disappeared from view, much to the shock of everyone in the bar. A single moment later he reappeared behind the group as they all roared in pain and collapsing on the floor.

Swords shattered, clothes shredded and most certainly broken bones. Every single one of the men were unconscious, face first on the ground. The _front man_ was missing a few teeth, he got a little extra for calling him _Red_ , Rob didn't like that nickname.

There was traces of blood on the floor, nobody was entirely sure whose blood it was between the four man, the bar remained silent as they all watched Rob. All of them in shock but some of them in fear as well, what the hell did they just witness?

Rob glanced around him, wondering if anyone was going to do anything.

But nobody did, they all just remained where they were.

Deciding to break the silence Rob spoke up, "Sorry about the mess." He said, referring to the mess of unconscious bodies on the floor, his statement directed at the barkeep. The barkeep just replied with a nod, he clearly didn't want to get too close.

The room remained silent, after awhile it just got a bit awkward to stand there so Rob decided it was time for him to leave.

As Rob made his way out he stopped by the door like the slavers had. The bundle of paper on the ground caught his attention.

He smirked, "Well would you look at that…"

* * *

 **Chapter done. And so it begins, lets see what kind of damage we can cause this time.**

 **Thanks again to everyone who has beta-read so far and to everyone who is willing to as well as well as everyone who reviews my story. You're all a great help!**

 **As a side note, I think I might do something special for the 10th chapter of the story. Maybe a Q &A or something. Leave questions for me in the reviews and in the 10th chapter I'll answer as many questions as I can. If not that than I might do something like a drawing request, where I give an attempt at drawing characters from the story thus far.**

 **If yous have any suggestions let me know, thanks.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	9. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 9)

**Chapter 9 - ...And Its Thorns**

* * *

The restaurant went silent for a second before this new comer spoke up again, "Aki was it? Forgive me but would you mind not calling me _Miss Lovelace_ it makes me feel old. Arabella will do just fine." The woman now identified as Arabella said to Aki giving her a small bow of her head and a cheery smile.

Aki responded with a small title of her head toward Arabella as she took up a plate of food and a drink that was handed to her by her husband, who had just appeared at the entrance to the kitchen, clearly having heard everything thus far. For one, the food smelt great, if this was what was coming to the others they got a real good deal for simply doing some heavy lifting.

"Here you are dear, hope it's too your liking." Aki lay the plate and drink before her, Arabella had taken a seat just across from Itzal and the others, laying the enormous ax against the table. You could hear the table strain and groan at the weight of this ax. Everyone's attention seemed to be on this Arabella woman for the moment.

"Cheers Aki!" Aki smiled softly at the woman before turning back to Itzal. She rejoined the group at their table. Zarina and Francis turning back to Aki, it was clear that she wanted to know more about their plans as privateers. With that little distraction it had given Zarina time to come up with a more appropriate answer. Zarina didn't want to lie, in fact Zarina hated lying. She preferred to hit people with the honest hard truth but she knew better than to scream to the world that she was traveling with a pirate. She could easily be mistaken for being one if she associated herself with one. Well two…

"Well," Zarina began quietly but stopped as she glanced over to Itzal. This in turn got Francis and Aki to stare at Itzal as well. He was still looking at Arabella with a curious expression plastered across his face.

Just as Arabella was about to dig into her food she paused, her eyes flicked over to Itzal. She could feel when someone was watching her.

"Can I help ya?" She slightly yelled across the room, her tone didn't sound threatening, it sound more calm and soft. She was probably just wondering why this kid was staring at her. Which was completely fair.

"What did you deliver to this island?" Itzal asked bluntly, which got Zarina and Francis to raise an eyebrow at him. Arabella didn't say anything, she just raised an eyebrow at Itzal herself.

What was that all about?

"Uh Itzal? What are you doing?" Francis asked, "You might be disturbing her meal by asking questions to a stranger, besides it's rude to stare." Francis leaned back in his chair eyes going between the two, what caught his attention exactly. Was it the big ax? Who knew? At this point Francis understood one thing, Itzal did what he wanted regardless of consequences. Luckily he was a nice guy even if a bit blunt.

"I know but I got curious is all, there was a lot of effort into hauling all that cargo around last night right?" Itzal defended himself, he jumped over his seat so now he was sitting on the chair backwards, facing Arabella. "I just want to know what all that stuff was exactly." He leaned forward in his chair, waiting for a reply.

Arabella cut right to the chase, "How did you know I was involved in all that last night in the first place?" Not that she really cared, she could sense this kid wasn't going to try anything dodgy. Although as she examined his appearance as well as his two colleagues she could tell Itzal was stronger than he looked. Much stronger.

"Guess you can't judge a book by its cover after all," She said out loud, not caring if anyone heard her. The others didn't know what she meant by that but they didn't need to. "So you're going to answer my question right?" She smirked at Itzal, leaning back in her seat, arching her back slightly against her chair.

"You stand out in a crowd." A rather blunt, simple but honest answer, couldn't be faulted for that.

"So you saw me among all the workers I assume. You've got good eyes buddy." She smiled at the group, "But still, why so curious? Curiosity killed the cat they say." She didn't mean anything hostile by it but it was a good piece of advice. Some things should just be left alone in the world.

Her response didn't seem to reach beyond Itzals ears though, "I'm sure I can handle anything that could kill a cat." Judging by the smirk on his face he found the thought funny. Which got a small chuckle from Francis and Arabella, a giggle from Aki and an eye roll from Zarina.

Of course Itzal wouldn't take such a warning to heart, as Zarina and Francis understood from their short time with him, Itzal wasn't someone that could be stopped very easily when it came to anything he wanted to know or do.

"Fair enough pal but don't say I didn't warn you! After all I won't be there to save your ass." Her cheeky grin and confident posture showed how much faith she had in herself. Clearly a person that could handle herself if needed but still her senses kept saying something was off about Itzal. He had a strong presence here, he must be strong but just how strong was he?

"If you really want to know I was delivering supplies to sailors in this area. I hear the ships that leave here sail for far waters so they need the supplies to last." A brief explanation from Arabella's part. However, Itzal could have sworn he heard Aki shift suddenly, which Zarina and Francis also happened to notice. Arabella and Itzal both noticed the husband, Lucius, look away due to the conversation from his place by the counter, his body tensing up uncomfortably.

What kind of reaction was that?

The restaurant went awkwardly silent but why? Everyone could feel the tiniest change in Lucius and Akis demeanor and posture.

So Itzal being Itzal decided to find out, turning to face Lucius at the counter. "Hey Lucius, why'd you react weird to what Arabella said? What are the supplies used for? You's have lived her awhile right?" Francis turned to face Lucius as well. Zarina, on the other hand, turned to Itzal, she had to admit, Itzal wasn't afraid to ask questions to find answers. An admirable trait to have.

Itzal lead the way once again, a reoccuring theme no doubt, "Was there something wrong with what Arabella said?"

Lucius didn't respond, he even seemed to ignore the question all together, hoping it might just go away. Aki almost did the same but something seemed to be pulling at her mind, guilt perhaps? But what could she be guilty about?

"Listen," Aki began, "You youngsters shouldn't stay on this island longer than you have to. There are some things that should just be avoided by any means." She stood from her seat and began to move toward her husband heading toward the kitchen beyond him. All eyes were on her for the moment, "You're all very pleasant people but this island can be dangerous if you're not careful." With that she disappeared into the kitchen leaving Lucius, Arabella and the others in silence, if only for a brief moment.

Arabella leaned back in her chair, seeming to contemplate what Aki said. Now she knew she was capable of handling herself but she wasn't stupid to ignore a piece of advice. She gently placed her hand on her ax handle, lightly grasping it. She was going to have to investigate further, she smirked to herself. There was a trace of adventure in the air and she wasn't going to ignore it.

Breaking the silence, "Lucius, please, explain what's going on on this island." This time it was Zarina that was leading the questioning. "Are all those rumors true? People disappearing once they come to this island?"

Everyone awaited the answer from Lucius but one person in particular among the group was more surprised. Arabella hadn't heard any rumors like that before, specifically about this island anyway. Now she was suspicious about her job here, the details seemed fine at first glance but with this new information it changes things. The first place she'd check would be the docklands, more so the ships that followed her here when she was leading this delivery convoy.

"Young lady, please, some things should just be left alone." Lucius' expression showed genuine regret but that clearly wouldn't stop Zarina, nor Itzal and Francis for that matter.

"Sorry Lucius but I'm not afraid of the truth." Itzal smiled to himself hearing that, it was good to hear Zarina talking like that, moving forward despite being told not to.

Lucius shook his head in disappointment, "Looks like I'm not getting out of this without explain everything right?" Once he didn't get an answer, just the gazes of the four people in the restaurant. "Guess that answers my question…"

He sighed, "Those rumors of people disappearing off this island are true but those rumors are somewhat foggy when it comes to the reasons." He sat himself down on a bar stool, "Some people say it's because this island is so good that they don't want to leave others say it's because people use this island to disappear and escape their dull mundane lives. They're both wrong."

You could see the painful truth on Lucius' expression, "This town, this island is a peaceful place to live in the East Blue, nobody here would ever get violent it's not in our nature. We take the punches and carry on in life. The only violent place on this island are the rough bars by the docks for the stressed sailors. It's due to that fact, that we don't defend ourselves that this island is abused by Slavers on a regular basis."

That word, **Slavers** , hit everyone in the room, shaking them from their thoughts.

"Wait, you're telling me there are slavers on this island? How the hell has nobody been able to confirm that?" Francis began, somewhat skeptical of this story. It makes sense with the rumors but Francis has been in the East Blue for years, he was a Marine during that time and he heard no such sightings of slavers.

"Did you hear about anything like this when you were in the Marines Francis?" Itzal looked over his shoulder at Francis. Now it was Lucius' turn to be surprised, he'd never actually thought he'd see a Marine in the East Blue but apparently he was wrong.

Even Arabella was surprised to hear this Francis guy was a Marine she's only seen a few Marines on the high sea, even though they were considered a legend by some of the islands in the East Blue, or the four blue seas in general, but to hear she was sitting in the same room as one. Hell, she had a bounty and yet he was just sitting there.

' _Does that mean those two with him are Marines?_ ' Looking between each member of the trio in front of her she came to a quick resolution. ' _The woman could be marine, she has more of a refined appearance similar to this Francis guy._ ' Her sight finished on Itzal and she completely shook the thought of them being marines from her head. With how he had acted thus far and his appearance there was **no** chance he was a marine.

"Nah, I never heard about slavers in the East Blue and if anyone was to hear about that within the marines it would have been me." He had a point, Francis was always good finding out secrets and the like so for him to hear nothing about this was unusual for him.

"What about slavery groups in general? Any notable ones that might venture out into the East Blue?" Zarina asked, maybe it wasn't an East Blue organization to begin. What if this was simple a common route they took.

Lucius didn't say a word while Arabella was listening as closely as possible. If there was think that she wouldn't tolerate it would be slavers, there were never any good kinds of slavers. All of them were scum.

"Well two spring to mind but one of them operates in the New World so for them to come to the East Blue is unlikely but the other one operates in the early stages of the Grandline so they can easily capture any gullible travelers that pass through." Francis explained, "That one is known as the Shattered Titans."

The Shattered Titans, most people knew their reputation as a group that could take on pirates and marines due to their sheer numbers and connections, people generally knew to stay away from such a group. Now of everyone in the room there was only one person who hadn't heard of the group before and I'm pretty sure you can guess who that is exactly.

"So if you know of this slaver group why haven't they been caught?" Asked Itzal, not understanding how slavers could operate the way they did. If the marines knew how could they still be in operation.

Francis continued his explanation, he sighed, "That would be because they're very well connected. They catch wind of raids on their ports before anyone can actually try stop them. They get information from somewhere that allows them to escape if a large threat comes their way. Like a Ghost comes and whispers in their ear to warn them of something nobody should know about."

Now Arabella leaned back in thought, ' _Could it be Anonymous? It sounds like how they'd operate but would they really work with slavers? Especially ones so public about their name and actions?_ ' This was starting to eat away at her thoughts, she wasn't sure about that sort of rumor before but now things start to add up.

"Other than that I'm not too sure what else they're up to. For them to retreat to the East Blue to hide might be their motive to come here." With that Francis couldn't really add much else to figure this out.

"So it seems they operate with other organizes, so perhaps they have connections in the East Blue? Information isn't cheap so they obviously have to trade something for it. So maybe they come here to trade with someone?" Zarina hypothesized, this actually managed to get a curious look from Arabella.

' _Clever woman, she figured that out like it was the easiest thing in the world…_ ' She had to admit it, that was well put together. Information wasn't cheap so her theory made perfect sense which unfortunately meant that the theory of **Anonymous** being involved is even more likely.

Once Arabella was drawn from her thoughts she was greeted by Itzal once again looking at her, "Can I help you?" She asked, wondering why Itzal decided to suddenly stare at her.

"If they come here to trade does that mean you delivered the information? Or could you have traded with them?" This got an odd flinch of irritation from Arabella but Itzal didn't mean anything by it. It's just odd to him how she arrived her to deliver something to this island specifically.

"I'd never associate with slavers, I'd sooner die than work with that kind of scum." She clarified, although she was highly suspicious of her of job here. "But," She began, getting the attention of everyone else in the room. "I'm suspicious of my delivery here with everything that's been said." The room got a bit more tense with each word, "And if I find out that this job is in any way connected to slavers I swear there will be hell to pay."

Luckily for everyone in the room that threat was directed at whoever might have tricked her but it still didn't stop Zarina, Francis and Lucius from becoming very uncomfortable, slightly frightened by her sudden change in demeanor.

But then she relaxed and sighed, "But that's only if any of it true." She smiled, tilting her head slightly. Everyone except Itzal sweatdropped at her second change in demeanor in the space of three seconds.

Mental note, this one is slightly unstable.

"Well, we're going to look around town to see what we can find, want to join us?" Itzal offered his invitation out to Arabella.

She just smiled at him before standing from her seat, hand on her ax, "You're so straightforward aren't you? Sure, I'll give ya's a hand this time. Common objective and all that."

Zarina and Francis just sighed audibly, leave it to Itzal to not only ask the ax wielder to join them but also ask for help dealing with slavers like it's nothing.

"We're being dragged into his ordeals aren't we?" Francis asked Zarina, loud enough for her to hear but not so Itzal or Arabella could hear. All she replied with was a slow tired nod of the head.

"Lets go check out the docks!" With that, Itzal stood up and took off walking toward the door, leading them all toward the town to begin their search.

Arabella paused for a moment before picking up her pace to catch up to Itzal, "Hey! Who said you'd be leading this group huh?! You're not the boss here!"

Arabella and Itzal had now left the restaurant to head further into the town and dock leaving Francis and Zarina sitting at their table.

"Do they even know what they're going to do if they find any slavers or slaves?" Francis asked Zarina, those two didn't even make a plan after all.

"I seriously doubt either of them have any plan whatsoever, a trait I also found in Rob as well." Zarina stood up, hand resting on her rapier the other in her pocket, "Itzal will probably try to free the slaves as soon as he can, I'd find it hard to believe someone who chases freedom as much as he does would let others have their freedom stolen."

Francis only smiled at her statement, it was right on the nose. Itzal did seem obsessed with freedom so he was sure as hell going to fight for it. Even Zarina had to smirk at her own statement, it was inspiring to see someone fight for something like that.

"Come on, we'll need to catch up with those two. I'm certainly not going to be staying on this island on my own when there are apparently slavers about." Francis had to agree, it wouldn't be wise to stick around for long so they'd be better off sticking with Itzal until this is all over.

Zarina rubbed one of her temples softly, ' _Every chance I have to leave I seemed to get pulled right back in…_ ' Itzal just seemed to have this ability to keep people around through his antics alone, impressive and frustrating at the same time.

Zarina and Francis both hurried after the two troublemakers, both of them thinking of a plan for if they end up in a confrontation with any slavers on the island.

The restaurant went silent, everyone had left behind a stunned Lucius. He'd heard the whole conversation. What could possess someone to attack one of the biggest slavery organisations on the Grandline? Why are those youngsters helping out this island for no apparent reason?

Just who were these young self proclaimed pioneers? Pioneers, unlikely but just who were these crazy youngsters?

* * *

Rob strolled casually along the beach whistling to himself, a small smirk on his face, right up to the tide mark only a few inches away from being touched by the waves, heading toward what he learned was a shore camp. He'd kicked the shit out of some more slavers back at the docks and found out they'd set up camp somewhere along the coast line.

Rob doubted the guy was lying to him, he'd regret it if he did anyway, so he followed the beach hoping to eventually come across the camp were some slaves were being held for transport. Not that they were going to be taken if Rob had anything to do with it.

Truth be told Rob had caused quite the stir back in town by the docks, he left a considerable amount of devastation at the docks. Lets just say he found one or two ships with the slavers emblem on them so he reacted as anyone else would do and trashed the place. The place being the ships of course.

A reasonable reaction right?

Rob wasn't a gambling man but even he'd put money on the fact someone will respond to the destruction of two ships in the harbor so that might help lower the numbers in the camp for him so the slaves are less likely to be caught in the crossfire.

Just as he rounded a series of rocks on the beach he stopped in his tracks. Eyes open in both shock and disbelief.

Standing only ten meters away stood a very large muscular man. This man stood at 7 foot, 3 inches and was of a muscular build, he stood way taller than Rob. He wore black boots, black shorts with red stripes along all the edges, a maroon vest with a dark orange and yellow hawaiian pattern on them. His face was sharp and well defined, chiseled. His eyes were a dark grey, his hair a dull blonde color, clearly having been wore out by the sea air from years on the oceans. He carried with him a huge greatsword on his back. A cold, dull grey steel blade, nothing extremely fancy to look at but it was still a dangerous weapon regardless, especially in this guys hands. His posture and expression told Rob everything he needed to know, he had been waiting for him.

Rob widen his stance ready to make a move if it required it.

The man laughed at the sight of Rob standing there in a battle stance, "I know it's been awhile Red but is that any way to greet me? Harsh but then again what would we expect from ya." His voice rough but coherent. He stood there watching Rob with a large smirk plastered across his face.

"What the hell are you doing here Zeko?!" Robs facial expression turned into a scowl as he faced the man now known as Zeko.

He laughed again, "Steady on Red, come on. Aren't ya glad to see me?" Zeko stepped closer to Rob as he spoke much to Robs displeasure.

"What are you doing in the East Blue? What reason would my old man have to send you here?" Rob wasn't too interested in having a conversation with Zeko, he'd rather not be speaking to him at all if he had the choice.

"Red, you know your old man so why don't you tell me." He smirked as he stopped right in front of Rob, looking down at him.

Rob paused for a moment, debating something in his head before coming to his answer. "The slaves, you're here for the slaves aren't you…" Rob said with distaste in his mouth, he should of figured.

"Well, yay and nah lad." Zeko began, turning his back o Rob, "Yeah I was sent here to scout the slavers but we weren't here to purchase slaves or shit like that. I'm here to see if anyone here would like to join me and get the fuck outta here, fuck paying for anything." Zeko looked over his shoulder to Rob to see his reaction. "And maybe find some valuables along the way if ya catch my drift. You know what yer old man is like."

To be honest there really wasn't much of a reaction at all, this sounded exactly like something Robs father would do.

"But another reason popped up." Zeko interrupted Rob from his thoughts, "I heard you've been getting into trouble Red. Messing with marines are we? What's that all about?"

Rob didn't say a word for two reasons, he didn't really want to answer Zeko but he also knew Zeko didn't need an answer, he damn well knew. It would be harder to believe that he didn't.

"So you've decided to become a pirate huh? And now you're off to the Grandline with your crew I bet. As all pirates do." Zeko took a few steps back, walking backwards away from Rob while facing him, looking him dead in the eyes.

"So you think you're tough enough for the Grand Line Red?" Zeko laughed even louder this time before drawing his sword from his back, "Don't make me laugh like that again Rob, it might hurt.". This made Rob flinch instinctively before readying himself, he knew what was coming.

Zeko grinned sinisterly at Rob, "Time for some well deserved tough love Red."

* * *

Itzal lead the others through the town heading toward the docks, much to Arabella's dismay, she prefered to be her own boss but here she was following behind Itzal, Zarina and Francis a foot behind her.

Thus far nobody had asked anything about slavers to any of the townsfolk, they didn't want to draw attention until they got to the docks. While Itzal was just going to dive head first into asking about the slavers Zarina and Francis advised him it would be better to investigate the ships Arabella had lead to the island. She personally wanted to know if her company was involved in this and if they were trouble was coming their way and its name was Lovelace Arabella.

As the group advanced through the town the group noticed small crowds and groups huddled together. All of them mirrored the same expression, one of concern, worry and confusion, all of them whispering between each other for some reason. Something must have happened for everybody to be acting like this.

"Something happen," Zarina began, before deadpanning, "And I have a feeling I might know who's involved." Itzal just chuckled while Francis shook his head, he still have an amused smile on his face, both of them knowing who they were referring to. The only one missing the _joke_ was Arabella but surely she'd eventually the missing member.

As the dock came into view the group understood at once why the town were acting the way they were.

At the dock at the opposite end to where Itzal and the others has docks were two destroyed ships. One of which was basically shattered to pieces of wood stacked in the water, broken masts and torn sails. The other ship, that was a tiny bit offshore away from the dock itself, was simply on fire slowly burning to nothing but charcoal and ash.

Zarina sighed audibly, what had she been expecting?

Francis leaned over to Zarina, "For someone who hasn't spent a lot of time with either Itzal or Rob you can read them like a book. Impressive." He had to admit her intuition was spot on. His response to her only got a weary head shake in return.

Itzal didn't really react to the destruction, he assumed it was Robs handy work but he was also curious as to why he'd destroy those two ships. He knew Rob wouldn't destroy a random civilian ship, at least he hoped not, so he figured the ships belonged to slavers. Although he had no idea how exactly Rob figured there were slavers on the island, he'd have to ask him about this later.

What got the group's attention was Arabella's reaction, firstly it was a moderately impressed whistle, "Admirable handy work, good destructive capable, a friend of yours did this?" She asked curiously.

Zarina spoke up before anyone else, "You could call him that, I'd prefer to call him a troublemaker." She whispered the next part, "Or a walking bomb…"

Arabella smirked after hearing Zarina, "Well I'd very much like to meet the person who caused that wreck." It reminded her of the ships she's destroyed before, good times.

Her reaction only got a deadpan from Zarina and a sweat drop from Francis. It seems they have another trouble maker in this mitst.

As the group stood in the middle of the street watching the chaos at the dock they heard yelling coming from behind them further down the road.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" A loud piercing voice called out.

The group turned to the source of commotion. Coming down the street was a group of fifteen men, among them there was a few fishmen as well.

They all had black trench coats but other than that they were all dressed differently. They mostly wore the darker shades to give them a tough exterior but they were failing miserably.

Our group of pirates were not impressed in the slightest.

Leading the group was one average sized man, dressed in nearly all black with an eye patch and a bald head, a furious facial expression plastered across his face, he carried a pair of knuckle claws on his hands. The second one behind him was a fishman, a combination of a squid or octopus fishman to be exact. These two were obviously the two leaders of this group. Their presence was more significant than any of the others around him.

Itzal looked over to the others, "I'm going to assume they're the owners of those ships right? They might also be the slavers we're looking for too."

Once he got a nod from the others Itzals turned back to face the advancing slavers.

Judging from how pissed off the group looked Itzal knew a fight was inevitable.

* * *

 **Sorry for the late chapter, no long chapter this time, I was just busy with other parts to my life. Hopefully the next chapter will be out on time but don't hold me to that.**

 **If you have questions you'd want answered about characters, the story world and anything else you'd like to know just ask in reviews or PMs and I'll have them answered in the author's notes at the bottom of the next chapter. I might make a short chapter but answer questions instead, I haven't decided yet.**

 **Thanks for all the support on this story, I'm continually grateful to you all.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	10. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 10)

**Chapter 10 - We always get the Crazies**

* * *

The tension in the town had rose considerably with the appearance of this armed crowd. The people were obviously afraid of what they were capable of, fearing for their own lives and those of they cared for. To mess with slavers was a death sentence for any ordinary person.

But since when was this crew ordinary?

Itzal and the others just stared on at the advancing group, not at all fazed. Itzal remained completely expressionless while observing them, he didn't really seem to care about their appearance, well apart from possibly beating the crap out of them for being slavers in the first place. While on the other hand Arabella just looked plainly bored. Zarina and Francis examined the group thoroughly, checking their numbers, weapons and movements. They were far more cautious about the whole situation then Itzal or Arabella were. They both knew Itzal was capable, they had a feeling Arabella was confident in herself too but Francis and Zarina would have to move carefully.

But clearly not cautious enough since the one leading the group noticed Itzal and the others. Glaring at them he barked over to them, "You got a problem with us?!"

The towns folk all retreated toward random buildings for safety, not wanting to be caught in their sights next. Luckily for them they weren't going to be their target by the end of this.

"We do, yeah." Itzal replied nonchalantly, Zarina and Francis turned to look at him with looks that said are you serious?

Arabella on the other hand just burst out laughing. "Oh man! You really don't give it a second thought do ya?! Hahaha!"

Itzal just looked between his three comrades, "Well it's true. They're slavers, of course we'd have a problem with them." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Francis just turned back to the slavers, folding his arms, he paused at what he saw, which went unnoticed by the others. "Well shit…" He murmured to himself.

Zarina shook her head, "Itzal, you are correct but you don't need to be so blunt about it. We could have worked around the situation to gain a greater advantage."

She was quickly interrupted by Arabella, "But where's the fun in that? Take them head on, straight down the middle and hopefully get a good fight out of it."

Zarina just looked her way without turning her head to her, judging by the happy smile on her face and neutral expression on Itzal she had a feeling her words going to get very far with these two.

She stood up straight and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why do I even try." She paused, "Now I have three of them to deal with." She mumbled at the end. Why was she being paired with so many crazies recently? Was this her punishment for some horrible crime she committed in a past life or something?

"Uhh, guys?" Francis attempted to get the groups attention but Arabella spoke over him.

"I admire the attempt but I'm not the kind of person many people can handle." She said it with such pride too. "Stick around long enough and you'll learn that!"

"Get in line, I have two others I have yet to learn how to handle first." Her response got a small chuckle from Itzal. It was obvious who she was referring to. A certain two trouble makers that helped her escape a prison convoy.

Arabella feigned hurt emotion, leaning back and placing her hand on her heart. "I'm wounded! Am I not important enough for you to consider me? How could you?!" A fake expression of sadness written across her face before she peeked an eye over at Zarina, a small playful smirk slowing forming.

Itzal just laughed at the exchange while Zarina sighed in defeat. Poor woman.

"Guys!" Finally gaining their attention the group turned to Francis to see him pointing toward something.

The group all turned as one to see the bald headed leader almost explode with anger, his face a bright red. You could see the vein on his about to pop. I guess being told someone has a problem with him then be blatantly ignored could piss someone off.

"You have a problem with me punk?" His anger directed at Itzal more so than anyone else. "Well now I have a fucking problem with you!" He stepped closer to the group, glaring at Itzal, not taking his eyes off him.

"Was it you who messed with my ships?!" He asked furiously, spitting as he spoke. He clenched his firsts slowly, cracking a knuckle or two as he did. Regardless of Itzals answer it wasn't really going to defuse the situation.

Francis and Zarina had hoped Itzal would be tactful with the situation but Zarina knew it wasn't going to go that way.

Francis was beginning to realize how this whole song and dance was going to go. He had to admit, Itzal was as simple as he was complex in character. An odd but interesting character.

"I didn't have anything to do with those ships." Itzal began but Zarina and Francis didn't hold their breath. "But my first mate did."

There it was.

You could practically hear the vein pop from all the way over here.

"So it was you! You bastard! Do you know who the fuck you're messing with?!" The bald guy raised his arms, preparing himself for a slaughter in his mind. "I'll fucking skin you alive you son of a whore!"

Arabella, Francis and Zarina reacted by placing a hand on their holstered weapons, ready to spring into action. Although Zarina and Francis were a bit more worried as opposed to Arabella who looked like she was waiting for them to make a move so she could move herself. A small child bursting with excitement it would seem.

Itzal didn't seem to even register the threat, he just blinked at him.

"But you're a slavers group, of course we'd try to stop such acts. Slavery is the biggest insult to those who seek freedom!" He said it like it was obvious, once again. "Freedom is the most important thing an individual can have but people like you try to ruin that for others."

Zarina and Francis hid a small smile, they were really starting to understand Itzal every moment they were with him. Even Arabella had to give the guy credit, he was spot on after all.

What came next nearly nobody was expecting. Itzal shifted his stance, stepping ahead of the others by only a foot or so. A large quantity of steam immediately radiated from his body, his skin going red from the heat he generated.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal condensed a ball of heat energy into the palms of his hands before firing both off in the direction of the group.

Leaving the crowd around them in shock.

The bald headed leader of the group dodged the strike that was meant for him however his allies behind him weren't so lucky. Two of them took the strike of one of projectiles before it exploded in a small radius, scattering across the ground in both in pain and a daze.

The other landed in between a group of three before exploding, this one was less damaging than the first as it mainly stunned them and knocked them over.

The slavers, townsfolk and even Arabella were surprised by Itzal. The crowd broke out in whispers of is that a devil fruit? The bald leader just glared at Itzal with even more hatred for daring to attack him but also for surprising him with a devil fruit.

Arabella just examined Itzal, giving him an up and down, ' _Gotta admit, I wasn't expecting that…_ ' But she quickly turned her attention back to the slavers at hand. ' _I'll ask more about that later on._ '

The only two who were surprised were Zarina and Francis. This actually wasn't the first time they meant a devil fruit user besides Itzal before. But that was a story for another time, they had some issues to deal with right now.

"You're really pissing me off kid, you know that?" He paused, carefully examining the Itzals appearance. He smirked, "So we got ourselves a monk of the Order of the Angels do we."

Now Francis could join in on the confusion, he'd never heard of that group before. The only one not surprised was Zarina, she figured Itzal was from such an order, not specifically that one but his appearance gave her her suspicions.

Itzal just shrugged it off, "I'm done with that Order, I'm never going back." He said it like fact, which it was. Once place on this planet Itzal wouldn't be seeing again.

The bald headed leader laughed, "I doubt they'd let someone like you leave that place. I bet they'd pay a pretty penny for their adultescent escapee back." He mocked Itzal. "I wonder if they'd pay the rates of the infamous slaver Drake for bringing in a run away!" Finally introducting himself by name.

This actually made it a bit mad, which surprised Zarina since she was the only one to really noticed the anger expression Itzal displayed for a brief moment. Itzal didn't get mad easy.

"All the more reason to fight then!" He shouted before spring into action and rushing at Drake. He was countered as Drake rushed at him as well, they both clashed, arms slamming into each other.

Everyone else prepared to fight the rest of the others group while these two went at it. The townsfolk evacuated from the scene, retreating to buildings much further away from the chaos.

The fight was on.

" **Tiger Uproar!"**

Drake shifted his free arm to a low angle and rushed upward toward Itzal with extreme speed. Itzal barely dodged the underhanded strike by pushing off the clash and leaning back, the blades on Drake's gauntlet sailed right past his field of view.. The strike was clearly aimed for his guts and chest. He'd have to be weary of that sneaky strike.

Wanting to push the advantage Drake attempt to punch his blades into Itzals. However Itzal spotted his body shifting for a punch. He grinned, Itzal leaned his body side ways as the blades moved by, the tips of one of the claws barely grazing his arm.

Itzal ignored that however that and countered him, his over stretched body being a perfect target.

" **Pocket Burst!"**

Itzal formed a small pocket of heat in his hand and rammed it into the chest of Drake, burning a layer of his clothes off before sending him tumbling backwards.

Drake quickly caught himself and stood ready for Itzal.

Itzal was about to charged Drake but was about to be cut off as the two in command, the fishman, leapth at Itzal. Arms outstretched for a strike.

" **Gong Quake!"**

But before Itzal could react the strike clanged against a metal object. To the fishmans surprised he had been blocked by an enormous ax.

Itzal saw who had jumped in for the save and smiled. "Thanks for the help!"

Hidden beneath the ax was none of other than Arabella standing strong with a smile of her own. She didn't respond to Itzal but she made sure her next phrase was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Never. Interfere. With. Another. Persons. Fight!" With her surprising strength she rammed the fishman with her ax causing him to skid backwards across the ground quite the distance. "You're dealing with me big guy!"

She placed herself between Itzal and the fishman before now addressing Itzal. "You got to the boss man before I did! So make sure you beat him." She didn't take her eyes of the fishman who returned her cheerful gaze with a stern expression.

"I was going to!" Was all Itzal replied with before turning back to Drake. "Good luck!"

With that Itzal leapt at Drake, heated fist at the ready. Luckily for Drake he blocked it with his gauntlet which dispersed most of the impact and heat.

Arabella and the fishman didn't bother to monitor the other two, they had their own fight to deal with.

"The names Ruin," The fishman introduced himself before getting into a power stance. "Lets us begin."

Arabella stood up straight, tossing her ax onto her shoulder before smirking at the fishman, now known as Ruin, "Arabella, pleasure to beat you." She left herself drop her guard, or at least appear to drop her guard.

Not liking the insult the fishman charged Arabella again, mindful of her ax and its positioning this time.

" **Fist of Temi-Gong!"**

Not mindful enough as Arabella swung the ax off her shoulder and straight into the ground in front of her, planting her ax head in the ground by her feet. Not having time to slow down or change his direction Ruin ended up punching the ax instead of Arabella.

Surprising the impact actually created a small shock wave that stunned Arabella, if she had been expecting that it wouldn't of gotten her. Using the opportunity Ruin pulled both his fists to his sides and fired them at Arabella.

Instinctively Arabella pulled her ax out of the ground and blocked the duel strike with her wide ax head but the force sent her flying backwards into the wall of a building, smashing into the wall and kicking up some dirt.

Ruin looked on at his opponent who looked up at him from her position in the wall.

She smirked, "Not bad." She said before pulling herself from the wall, leaving an Arabella shaped imprint on the wall before it collapsed behind. The fact it collapsed meant that for a brief moment Arabella was supporting the weight of the small wall on her shoulders.

Arabella quickly shook off any rumble on her before charging at Ruin, swinging her ax behind her.

" **Crazed Cyclone!"**

Arabella came to sudden and unexpected halt in front of Ruin while she swung her ax almost a full three hundred and sixty degrees around her before she slammed her ax into his upper torso.

The impact was so big that even for a fishman of his size, especially compared to Arabella he was thrown across the street and through a wall on the second story of the building. The roof of the same building collapsed as well, completely wiping out the second story.

After a few moment Ruin appeared at the hole in the wall with a wound across his chest, looking down at Arabella, his gaze showing his anger toward her.

All this did was make Arabella' smile wider.

During this whole ordeal the other remaining slavers had charged at Francis and Zarina expecting to take them down easily. They were sorely mistaken.

There stood Zarina and Francis, back to back. Weapons draw and at the ready for the next attempt. A rapier in Zarinas hand while Francis held a saber and pistol.

Around them lay the slavers comrades, eight to be precise, who had attempt to attack them first. While they were tougher than the marines Zarina had faced before she still managed to fend them off, even if she was having help.

"Impressive sword technique Zarina." Francis admitted to her, "You're better with a sword than I am." Zarina didn't reply, she was too busy controlling her breathing. Even though there was less of them than the marines they were stronger, they were tiring her out so she didn't respond to Francis.

Francis on the other hand wasn't tired from the fighting but he did have a few small minor cuts and scuff marks. He was more struggling to beat them with his skills alone. They were better sword fighters than he was, Francis wasn't really a gifted swordsman. The only advantage he had was the fitness training the marines did. He was physically stronger than they were but they could out fight him.

Luckily for the both of them were the other lacked the other succeeded, so they were successfully holding off the advancing slavers.

Once the commotion had begin another small group had come to reinforce the main one meaning Francis and Zarina still had another fifteen more to go.

"We'll make it." Francis reassured Zarina, it wasn't much but anything to help keep her going.

All Zarina did was nodded which gave Francis all the affirmation he needed. At that moment another two slavers charged on Zarinas side.

She blocked the first one that was ahead of the other by letting him strike her rapier and using the momentum to drive their swords downward. Using the advantage Francis spun on the spot to face the two slavers that were targeting Zarina.

With his guard down Francis simply pistol whipped him across the face which knocked him sideways a bit. This allowed Zarina to swiftly slice him across his thigh. He yelled in pain before falling over clutching his leg.

This however left Zarina open to the second slaver as he went for an overhead swing. "Die bitch!" He roared in anger, obviously pissed off that they were losing to these two.

He was blocked by Francis' saber however, blocking it by holding the saber sideways at head height. Zarina glared at this one for calling her a bitch but she didn't say anything. That's an insult to be called a bitch by a slaver, the lowest kind of scum.

She retaliated by slicing the back of his arm which caused him release his sword from his grasp. The slaver gritted his teeth in pain before a shot rang out.

Francis had swung his pistol and ended up shooting him in the other arm making it so both of his arms were useless. This one collapsed beside his comrade groaning in pain trying not to scream at the pain.

Zarina and Francis returned to a back to back stance, waiting for the next ones to try them both.

"Teamwork, am I right?" Francis quipped, joking how they took those two down way faster together than alone.

"Right." Was all Zarina replied with as she regained her composure, fixing herself and stance, trying not to show weakness. ' _I get through my whole life up until recently not having to fight. I spend a few days with a duo of crazy and my life is turned upside down to a whole new reality._ ' Zarina sighed, exhausted by the whole ordeal, deadpanning at the slavers around her.

They both waited for the next brave souls to try them when a large crash was heard. They both glanced over to see Itzal standing up from the remains of a destroyed house, Drake looking at him not too far away not looking too good himself. He was far worse for ware than Itzal was, Itzal didn't even seem fazed by this guy.

"For a brat you're not that bad," Drake huffed out, he clenched his fists with anger. "I think I'm starting to like the idea of killing you. You're not worth the hassle of sending you back to the Order."

"You couldn't do either." Itzal stated, he didn't mean it as a taunt. He was stating it like a matter of fact. He wasn't going to die here and there was no way he was being sent back either.

Drake just smirked at him, "Too bad."

" **Tigers Hunt!"**

All of a sudden Drake disappeared from Itzals view. Itzal readied himself as best he could. At that moment Itzals instincts kicked in, he leaned his head to the left. He felt a rush of wind pass him.

Spinning to where the rush of air was heading he saw Drake reappear, his back to him.

"Impressive kid, not many people can't survive a tigers hunt." He turned to face Itzal. "You survived but not without a scratch." He positioned himself again, ready for another attempt.

Itzal quirked a brow before placing a hand on his neck and collarbone. He immediately knew what he felt on his shoulder, a small trace of blood. A small, shallow but clean cut from Drakes claws.

Itzal ignored the tiny wound ready for Drake to move again, he had an idea on how he could end this but he needed to lure Drake into a false sense of security.

" **Tigers Hunt!"**

He did it again, as Itzal expected. Use the move that has the best chance to hurt Itzal and keep him safe as well. Luckily for Itzal he was fast enough to dodge it again as he shifted his lower body to avoid being gutted as he felt the wind rush past. However he did feel a slight graze of the claws but again nothing to worry about.

Drake reappeared behind Itzal, "A tiger doesn't give up so easily."

Itzal and Drake once again readied themselves.

Further away from them was Arabella and the fishman, Ruin, were clashing once again. Arabella had such a joyful expression on her face, she was getting a kick out of this. This has to be some of the best fun she's had in awhile. Ruin on the other hand looked displeased.

"That all you got big man?" She joked. Arabella quickly slammed her ax head into the ground which caught Ruin off guard. She quickly punched Ruin in the chest which only knocked him back a few feet but that was enough.

Arabella threw herself around the handle of her ax, planted both her feet securely onto the ground before she grasped her ax handle tightly.

" **Erratic Tremor!"**

Arabella dragged her ax head through the ground with such force it sliced and shattered the solid ground beneath them. She brought the ax upward and gave Ruin an uppercut with the ax head.

The strike cause Ruin to spat blood before sliding backwards again. He recovered quickly recovered however so he quickly pressed the attack by stepping toward Arabella.

" **Gong Quake!"**

He prepared for a strike to Arabella's core but before he could attempt it Arabella moved first. With her ax overhead from the uppercut strike she lined up her ax.

" **Deranged Meteor Impact!"**

She brought her ax head down but on its flat side. She jumped up high with a single leg above Ruin and slammed the flat of her ax down on Ruin. Smashing him into the ground, stuck between the force of Arabella's ax and the earth beneath them.

After Ruin didn't react in anyway Arabella raised her ax from on top of him. The sight of Ruin made Arabella giggle. There, stuck in a small crater, was Ruin face planted into the ground. Completely unconscious.

"You were a fun training partner Ruin." She shouldered her ax and began moving away from him. "But I have a disdain for slavers. This was inevitable."

And that's her fight done with.

Zarina and Francis were just about wrapped up as well. Only two slavers remained.

Both groups stood side by side watching the other. Zarina and Francis didn't bother to attack, they didn't need to. After all they were playing defensive this whole time they weren't the aggressors in this conflict. Even if they really wanted to give it to these slaving scum.

Neither of them broke focus but you could see Zarina was getting pretty tired by now. She'd worked up quite a sweat this fight. A fact she also loathed since she really wished she was fitter than she currently was.

One of the slavers charged Zarina seeing her as the weaker link of the two. Zarina gritted her teeth, she was so sick of this.

But he was intercepted by Francis who stepped in front of Zarina. This surprised her for some reason, sure they'd been working together to fend of these slavers but to see how he'd willing put himself in danger for her sake.

' _This guys… Why do they keep doing this?_ ' Zarina thought to herself, clutching her side. ' _Why do these guys keeping protecting me? Francis, Rob and Itzal…_ ' Zarina paused for a moment, ' _They don't owe me anything._ '

It had been a bad move to lose focus since the slaver had been expecting this, quickly changing target he swung his sword upward clashing with Francis' blade. However Francis had been caught off guard so his saber was launched from his hand.

The slaver capitalized on this by headbutting Francis, knocking him to the ground. He raised his sword to kill Francis.

Zarina surprised herself by digging in deep and moving over quickly to intervene. She stepped close to Francis' position. She quickly thrust her rapier at him, grazing his face.

It wasn't much in terms of damage but it caused the guy to flinch, this gave Francis an opening. He kicked the guys right leg out from under him causing him to fall to one knee and catch himself with his free hand. He looked up to see Zarina standing over him, she swiftly smacked him with her rapiers guard across the face causing him to collapse to the ground.

Francis hastily rose from the ground, pistol still in hand. They both turned to the last slaver expecting to face him next but to their surprise all they saw was one unconscious slaver on the ground with none other than Arabella standing over him.

With her ax on her back she clearly walked up and punched the guy once to finish it.

She smiled at the duo, "Well done you two. Not bad at all!" She cheered them both on, not many people were brave enough to fight off a larger group of attackers like that.

Francis just rubbed the back of his grateful the whole thing was done while Zarina on the other hand looked like she mentally face palmed herself from frustration.

"With all them out of the way, you both want to go find your friend?" She gestured off somewhere further down the street. "He's somewhere down there."

Both Francis and Zarina released a heavy sigh, no use standing around here. Might as well find where Itzal had gotten off to.

Arabella stood waiting for them to join her which Francis did. He walked up, grabbing his saber off the ground first, holstered it and then turned back to Zarina. They both raised an eyebrow at her because she seemed to be deep in thought.

"Uh Zarina?" Francis asked her, trying to gain her attention. "Something wrong?"

"Very." Was all she replied with. After not getting anything else from that Arabella continued.

"And that would be?"

"Where's the other troublemaker gone?" Arabella didn't understand what she meant by that but Francis figured it pretty quickly.

"You mean Rob?" He questioned, she replied with a nod before continuing.

"He's nowhere to be seen and that's not a good thing. I may not have known him that long but I know one thing for certain. Never! Leave him to his own device for long. Otherwise a lot of trouble will come our way." Her tone of voice indicating she was absolutely certain in her words, spoke from experience and intuition.

Francis just laughed nervously at her statement. ' _Why does she sound like his older sister when she says that…_ '

Arabella chimed in before Francis could break from his thoughts. "Sounds like a party wherever he goes." An amused grin spread across her face. Sounds wild in her mind.

Zarina just rolled her eyes and holstered her rapier. "We'll need to find him at some point." She stated before walking on past Arabella and Francis heading in the direction Arabella had gestured Itzal would be.

Francis and Arabella looked between each other before walking off after her. So they'd first find the original troublemaker and then find his partner in crime second.

* * *

Itzal dodged yet another strike from Drake. You could tell Drake was getting more and more impatient with every attempt.

"I'm getting fucking sick of this kid!" He yelled furiously at Itzal. "Are we fighting or not!"

Drake couldn't tell from his position but Itzal smirked at his words. He was getting angrier by the second and once someone gets angry they drop their guard ever so slightly.

" **Tigers Hunt!"**

Drake disappeared again but this time Itzal was ready for him, he'd examined his movements and the angles he'd strike from all his previous attempts.

Itzal planted his back foot and pivoted on the spot, swing his body around to the direction Itzal knew he was coming from.

" **Scorched Earth!"**

Itzal overheated his body to an extreme degree, his skin turning a scorching bright orange. But his hands turned a blistering white hot.

Itzal rapidly struck forward, pushing his fist and body weight forward anchoring himself to the ground like an immovable object, the ground under his feet crushing under the pressure he created. The ground itself even began to burn and sizzle. He didn't even look up to his outstretched hand as he just stood there for a few seconds.

After that, Itzal reduced his body temperature. He finally looked up to see Drake slumped over his outstretched fist, completely unconscious. Itzal rather comically let Drake slip off his arm and face plant the ground.

He'd ended the fight.

Itzal took a step back and observed the chaos he'd created. Around him were shattered walls and ground, evidence of each impact. If it was this bad here Itzal would have to wonder what kind of damage was further back in town from where they started.

"Itzal!" A voice called out to him, he turned to see who it was. Once finding the source of the voice he just grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey guys!" He waved them over, Arabella, Francis and Zarina all finally reuniting after their little brawls all over the place. Itzal could of sworn he heard Zarina muttering under her breath. Something about finding the first troublemaker?

First to speak up was Arabella who examined the state Drake was in. You could still see the sizzling steam coming from Drakes burnt stomach.

"Not bad buddy. You took him down well enough." She gave Itzal a small nod of approval. To be fair he said he'd deal with Drake and that is exactly what he did.

Itzal just laughed at her response before turning to Zarina and Francis. "Are you two alright? Sorry if I lefts yous in a tight spot back there." He gave them both a small apologetic bow to demonstrate he meant it.

"Not at all Itzal." Francis simply waved it off, sure it would have been nice to have Itzal deal with them all but between himself and Zarina they didn't do half bad.

"It's fine, you had your own issues to deal with after all." Zarina stated neutrally before quickly adding at the end. "But thank you for asking."

The group all relaxed for a second before another familiar voice called out to them.

"Is it all over? You lot really managed to do all this?" The voice sounded in shock, the group simultaneously turned back down the street to see who the voice belong to.

It was Aki, standing behind her were many of the townsfolk all staring at the group with awe. They couldn't believe it, a small group of four managed to defeat the group of slavers that had been haunting their home for years.

All of a sudden the town erupted into cheers and shouts of joy, people began hugging each other. It was like a sudden huge surge of life was given to the townspeople.

Itzal couldn't help but smile at the sight. Arabella and Francis had smirks of their own at the sight of the happy town. Zarina hid her smile but she still had one regardless.

Aki stepped forward toward the group, she clasped her hands together over her heart. "You have no idea how much this means to us." The group looked at her surprised, they noticed she'd begun crying. Tears slowly traced their way down her face.

"To finally be free like this. It's a release from a nightmare."

The group mostly remained silent, giving her a moment, well apart from Itzal who spoke up immediately.

"Not a problem! Anyone who fights freedom has to fight me!" He said confidently. "But we're not done yet, right?"

The rest of the group and Aki all looked toward Itzal. So he just continued, "There is a camp on the other side of the island right? Not far from here? So let's go bust it up and free whoever is there."

Aki was stunned, he'd done so much by beating Drake for them yet he was still willing to do more. All in the name of freedom alone?

Aki was speechless. With her not speaking the group went silent as the rest of the town continued to celebrate.

"Well let's get going then! More action awaits!"

"We'll never get to rest will we…"

"You never stop do you Itzal?"

Arabella, Zarina and Francis all replied respectfully. Looks like their adventure had a little further to go. It was surprising to see Zarina and Francis willing join in but they were the kind of people that saw things through to the end. Even if they were dragged into to some degree they were in for the long haul.

Itzal looked between the rest of the group before resting on Aki, "We'll be back okay?" Itzal turned off to lead the group on the march to the other side of the island. Arabella looked excited about the whole ordeal. Zarina looked done with all of this, she seemed rather grumpy if you could call it that. All she wanted was a nice place to rest but she'd push on for now. Francis just stared between each member of the group an oddly amused smile on his face. He had to admit it, this group got weirder by the second.

Before the rag-tag group could go too far Aki called out to them. "How can we repay this kindness?! Anything at all!" She called out to them.

Not sure what to say, "I'm sure something will pop up! If anything at all!" Before turning back to head off to the slavers camp, Arabella, Zarina and Francis right behind him.

That was it? No demands? No suggests? Just we'll see what comes up?

Aki just remained motionless staring off after the group of misfits. They were certainly a strange bunch, you don't meet people like them very often.

A single tear ran down her face. She wiped it away and smiled after them.

"Thank you."

* * *

 **Well I got this chapter out quicker than I originally thought I would. I had spare time over the weekend and this chapter just flowed really well. Easy and fun to write. So great, an early chapter.**

 **A heavy fight chapter too, hope you all enjoyed that part. I tried to have it flowed from fight to fight. Not sure if you all prefer it like that but I wanted to try something new in the formula.**

 **We have maybe another chapter or two before we're done on this island so let's see what happens. We do have a crewmate currently off on his own after all.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	11. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 11)

**Chapter 11 - Scars**

* * *

"This isn't as much fun when they're weak." A voice half complained half stated, standing over a small pile of unconscious slavers. This of course was Arabella, who else would it be.

The group had encountered a few slavers that stood between them and their camp. Itzal and Arabella jumped at the chance for another scrap with these bastards but there were few to go between the two of them from Zarina and Francis' point of view.

"Fighting isn't something that's supposed to be fun." This voice belonging to Zarina standing further back from all the fighting alongside Francis. Both of them deciding to watch instead of help, they both knew they'd more than likely get in the way of these two monsters.

Arabella just shrugged at Zarinas argument before countering, "That's a matter of opinion right?"

"I suppose I can't argue that." Zarina conceded. "But fighting in terms of survival was never meant to be fun, it was used for survival purposes. Over the centuries we turned it into a sport and a way of life." Francis just stood there listening to both of these women, an amused smile on his face. You could clearly see the difference in lifestyle and ideology, he could tell that Arabella was one to win physical fights while Zarina was one to win logical, verbal fights.

"Well," Arabella began, "I'm glad they did cause otherwise this world might just be that bit duller." A satisfied smile formed on her face as she admired her handy work. A good fight always got the blood flowing, heart racing, sweat pumping. Well it did if ones opponent were challenging which these guys clearly weren't.

Zarina just remained silent after this, there was no point in continuing this discussion. She instead just observed both her and Itzal as they just about finished up. Francis shook his head, these people were unbelievable sometimes.

A bit further away from the group stood Itzal, a scattering of slavers sprawled out around him, a small stream of steam leaving his body and trace amounts of steam trailed off every individual Itzal had beaten into the ground.

"Yo Itzal!" Arabella called out causing Itzal to turn to her and the rest of the group that stood further behind her. "You done?! Don't keep us waiting!" She joked.

Itzal completely deactivated his devil fruit, steam no longer came off his body. "Yep! All good here." He replied with a cheerful smile stepping over the mess of unconscious bodies on the floor. "I think we've beaten most of them but there might be a few left at the camp itself, we clear them out and that should be it."

"We should get a move on then if we're going to free those slaves right?" Francis chimned in as both Zarina and himself joined up where Itzal and Arabella stood.

"So you've dealt with the leader of this group, his second in command and defeated the majority of his men." Zarina began checking off what they'd done. " **Someone** destroyed their ships as well at the harbor." Emphasizing someone for whatever reason. "Now all that's left is to take the camp and free the slaves." Zarina summed it up nice and simple.

"So what's your plan you deal with all these slavers Itzal?" Francis asked, curious as to where or what Itzal would do next. Zarina was also curious, once this was over this is where they went their separate ways after all.

Subtly even Arabella wanted to hear where this guy might be going.

But the obvious answer hit them hard.

"No idea." He replied simply which a sigh from Zarina, a confused look from Arabella and an awkward smile from Francis. Of course.

But Itzal continued, "I might explore the town a bit more before we leave, I bet Rob would have something to do here too for awhile." The name Rob being mentioned again Arabella figure this was the missing member of this group that she had still yet to met in person, the one responsible for the havoc at the dock. "But once we're done here we're going straight for the Grandline."

Francis and Zarina just shifted where they stood as their own thoughts began to engross them both, wondering as to what they planned to do themselves. Itzal gave them barely any plans for his own future just now but they had to admit compared to their own it was still better than what they could come up with.

Arabella on the other hand looked excited at the mention of the Grandline, visually perking up. "Oh, so you're heading to the Grandline are ya?" She smirked at Itzal, "Mind if I tag along?" She offered out of the blue.

Zarina and Francis seemed rather surprised although Zarina hid it well. Where did this come from?

"Sure." Was all Itzal replied with, "Glad to have you apart of the crew!" A cheery smile plastered across the face. Zarina didn't even flinch, at this point she'd expected that answer, Francis shook his head while Arabella herself had a whole hearted smile on her own face.

That was remarkably easy.

"Brilliant! You won't regret it! I've been to the Grandline a few times myself!" Arabella somewhat boasted accidently to the rest of the group which amazed Itzal of course.

"Really?! How is it?!" Itzals excitedly questioned Arabella, Francis just looked at him while Zarina made a mental note not to over excite Itzal with the thought or stories of adventures.

The group all focused on Arabella waiting to hear her explanation. The people present never having been to the Grandline themselves.

"It was when I'd be sailing ships for operations." She began to explain, she was considering going no further than that, she knew if she blabbed about her smuggling operations she could be targeted but that ship had long sailed. They'd betrayed her by having her smuggle weapons and supplies to slavers without her knowledge, she'd rather die than help a slaver so all those allies in the smuggling rings are allies no longer in her eyes. "I was hired to smuggle goods to islands just beyond reverse mountain a good number of times. I got to see a lot of the islands people first land on when they come out the other side of reverse mountain so I know my way around that small portion of the Grandline. Made a few friends as well, might come in handy."

"Woah."

"Impressive."

"That's all?"

Itzal, Francis and Zarina replied respectfully, Zarina mostly under her breath, it was clear to tell who was more impressed than others by those simple words.

From the sight of Itzal it was clear he was somewhat daydreaming about the adventures he'd be having on the Grandline which got a small laugh from Francis and Arabella and a smirk from Zarina.

Shaking himself from his thoughts of a grand adventure Itzal turned back to Arabella, "You said you sailed ships right? Does that mean you're a helmsman?" Perceptive for him to pick up on that small detail.

"Damn right! Best helmswoman around ya know! I could get your ship anywhere in the world if I had to!" It was clear she took great pride in her profession and skill.

"Yes! That means we got ourselves a helmsman!" Itzal cheered, a helmsman was a very important role aboard a ship and to get one this early was fantastic luck.

"Easy there, I'm only repaying the favor. I'm not joining your crew if that's what you're expecting." She gave Itzal a look for a second, " I assume you're a pirate, am I right?" She figured if he wasn't a marine he'd be a pirate. That was a loose assumption but judging by his reaction to the thought of adventure and the fact he didn't care she was a smuggler a pirate was the best guess for that.

"Oh, well yeah I'm a pirate." Itzal replied bluntly, "What favor though?"

Zarina joined in, "Itzal is correct to question that, we didn't do anything that earned any sort of repayment."

"I suppose you're right but if yous hadn't brought up those questions had the restaurant about this island I might not have figured out there were slavers here. I might have actually ended up leaving supplies and weapons here for them and there is not a chance in hell I'd let that happen, I'd never side with bastards like that." Arabella explained showing clear disdain for those _bastards_.

She sighed before continuing, "I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't pick up on it, I'm usually brilliant at reading people and their intentions. I must have lowered my guard too much, been too distracted."

"We all make mistakes but you did fix the problem by smashing up those scumbags so you should call it even." Itzal countered, he was just being his usual nice self.

' _Ever the optimist._ ' Francis thought to himself, "I think we should quickly head to the camp and finish this before we continue this discussion." Francis suggested before stepping ahead of the group. "Lead on." He gestured in the direction of the camp.

"Alright let's go!" Itzal called out before heading off in front of Francis. Zarina followed behind a small neutral expression on her face and Francis with a small smile of his own. Arabella lagged behind for a second.

' _Crazy and foolish people the lot of them_ ,' Arabella thought before smirking, ' _I like them already!_ ' Before she quickened her pace to catch up the rest of the group.

* * *

" **Pocket Burst!"**

A small struck a figure and was sent flying into a tent nearby, completely dismantling it the contents within the tents shattered if the sounds of broken wood and metal was anything to go by.

Itzal landed gracefully on the ground in front of the tent his body still emitting tiny streams of steam before they faded too. Arabella walked up beside him just a second later and smacked him hard on the back.

"You got the final one! That sorts that mess out." Gesturing around the area guiding Itzals gaze with her humongous ax. The area they both stood was covered with the _very_ last of the slavers, they're camp was in ruins, they're tents torn to shreds, weapons shattered into shards and supplies smashed into pieces.

Arabella leaned on Itzals shoulder and threw her ax over her other free shoulder, "You gotta love fresh destruction in the morning." Arabella said clearly admiring their handy work.

"Shame the fight ended so soon." Itzal responded as he scratched his chin.

Arabella pushed herself off Itzal and swung her ax again twirling it oce before tossing it onto her back to holster it. "Better than nothing." Arabella happily replied.

The talk between these two was interrupted by another voice, "So you've finished?" The voice asked. They both turned to see Francis and Zarina walking over to them.

While Itzal and Arabella quickly dispatched the remainder of the slavers guarding the camp Zarina and Francis snuck around into the camp to look for information or anything they might find useful.

Once Itzal saw Zarina he smiled, Arabella smirked as well as she was completely engrossed in a book while also carrying two others in her free arm. She looked out of place standing in the middle of all this destruction.

Francis caught them both staring and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "She looked to be intrigued so I left her to it." Leaving Zarina where she stood Francis walked over to Itzal and showed him what he himself had found.

"I found a map of the route these slavers take when navigating the East Blue," Francis explained. "I also found a stash of Berri and what appears to be sale orders." Both Itzal and Francis furrowed their brows at the last item mentioned, that meant they were going to be delivering slaves to these people at some point. Arabella stood off to the side and looked away in disgust, slavery was the lowest form of crime and those who were involved in the _business_ were complete scum.

Francis passed the items over to Itzal, Itzal however just looked at him confused. "Why don't you keep the money, I don't need it." He smiled at him but at this point Francis wasn't surprised. So he stuck the map and sale orders into the inside of his jacket and just kept a hold of the money bag, tossing it over his shoulder to make it easier to carry. Francis might not speak of it now but there was not a chance he'd leave that map and orders un-read or analysed, he'd make a note of those people on that list.

"What else did you see over there?" Arabella asked Francis but it was Zarina that answered from where she stood.

"They have three large metal crates with holes drilled into them at the top. I suspect they have people trapped inside them." Zarina explained, shutting her book ad turning up toward the rest of the group, she was quickly interrupted by Itzal.

"Then let's go free them!" But before he could run off Zarina continued as if he never interrupted her.

"The crates are sealed with heavy duty locks. We need to locate the keys because I believe we shouldn't walk up to the crate and smash it open while they're living occupants inside, they might not like that and by we I mean you two." She nodded her head between Itzal and Arabella.

She had a fair point, smashing up a crate while innocent people were trapped inside. Finding the keys would be the best option.

"Well that's going to be a pain to search every one of these bastards for a set of keys, hell the ones back in town might have them." Francis thought, "Should we split up to check them out? I could head back to town and search the ones there." Francis offered but Arabella declined the offer.

"No point in doing that if the keys happen to be here, check this place first with us."

However they were all interrupted once they heard the jingling of keys just above them, they all looked up to see something perched on the tree. A familiar white monkey.

Itzal gave a little cheer while Francis gave an expression that said _you have to be kidding me_. Zarina didn't react all and Arabella was slightly confused, she hadn't seen this monkey before.

"Come on down little buddy!" Itzal called out, his little partner immediately crawled down the tree branch to the trunk and hopped onto the ground holding the keys with its own joyous smile on his face.

"Where did this guy come from?" Arabella asked. "I didn't see or sense him nearby this whole time."

"Oh he stowed away on our ship on the last island. The little fella stuck with us after that." Francis explained, "He's taken quite the liking to Itzal for some reason." Even Francis himself didn't know why the little monkey followed Itzal, what did Itzal do on that island without their knowledge? "But to be fair I completely forgot about him." He admitted.

The little monkey paused its cheer.

"Yeah me too." Itzal also guiltily admitted, "I had no idea he even left us up until now."

The little monkey collapsed over to its side comically, clearly hurt that nobody noticed he'd disappeared or when he disappeared from the group.

"I did." Zarina added causing the monkey to shift its head toward her. "I noticed him leave when we were at the restaurant, he finished his bowl of peanuts and slipped away when you were all distracted." She finished speaking as he adjusted her glasses.

Itzal, Francis and Arabella looked at her for a second, how did she notice a monkey slip away when they were all distracted by talk of slavers on the island?

All of a sudden the monkey jumped up again, full of life, did a little flip before dashing over to Zarina. He stopped by her feet and held up the keys for her to take them. She leaned down and grasped them which made the little fella chirp happily.

"Seems you made a new friend." Arabella teased, enjoying the little antics of their monkey companion.

Zarina didn't say a word but instead just gave the little guy a small rub of his head with her finger as a response the monkey immediately toppled to one side playfully rolling across the ground by her feet.

A smile formed on everyone's faces.

"Have you named him yet Itzal?" Francis asked but before Itzal could speak up Zarina beat him to it.

"Sherlock," Zarina said in a neutral tone, "Sherlock is good name for him." Zarina clearly had her own reasons for that name in her head but she'd leave it at that.

"Yeah! That's great! Sherlock it is!" Itzal gave zero resistance to that name, it sound pretty cool too. "Where's you come up with that name though?"

"She'll explain it to you another time." Francis intercepted Itzals question before continuing, "Lets go free those prisoners shall we?" As he began walking in the direction of the crates he and Zarina saw earlier.

"Right!" Arabella exclaimed before moving off with Francis.

The monkey known named Sherlock scurried up Zarinas leg and arm to reach her shoulder, much to her surprise although she kept a straight face for the most part only slightly failing when Sherlock swayed on her shoulder. To have a monkey crawl all over her suddenly was a bit weird. She was rather uncomfortable.

"Itzal," gaining his attention, "Would you mind?" She asked not needing a full question for Itzal to know what she meant.

But there was a pause from Itzal, his gaze seemed to be turned off in a random direction. His expression was a curious one for some reason. Itzal knew something was weird out there but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Itzal?" Zarina said slightly loud to get his attention, it worked because he turned back to face her, he smiled at her before he quickly made his way over to her, "Here Sherlock!" Itzal extended his arm. Understanding Itzal , Sherlock scurried across his arm onto his shoulder instead freeing Zarina.

"Thank you." She replied courteously.

"Any time!" Was his simply reply. "Come on, let's go!"

Just as Itzal moved past her she subtly examined him, this guy really was strange. Carefree, fearless, motivated, just what went on in his head for him to act the way he is, do the things he does, believe the things he believes. She thought back to when she first meet him a few days prior, he and Rob had both attacked a marine prison convoy for no reason whatsoever and had saved her for that same reason, none! Now here he was fighting slavers and freeing more prisoners. She couldn't help but let a small genuine small creep across her lips.

' _You are a strange one Itzal._ '

She quickly shed that smile and quickened her pace to catch up with the others.

* * *

Far from where our pirates were stood two figures, side by side, atop a hill in the shadow of a large oak tree so you couldn't make out their appearances too well, overlooking the whole area. From this position you could see where Itzals group was the the slavers camp not far from their location.

One figure stood at roughly five foot, one, the other stood at roughly five foot six. Their outline made it clear they were both female. In the shorter ones hand was a spyglass they were using to focus in on the group, one member in particular.

"It's them right Tia?" The taller one asked, "From before?"

"Yes, it's them." The smaller one replied, "But I only see one of them."

"Should we introduce ourselves?" The taller one asked.

"Not right now, we both have our own objectives right now." The smaller one focused her attention on Itzal. "We'll meet them again, I'm sure of it." The tone of her voice made it seem like they were excited for whatever reason.

"Understood, shall we return to help repair the ship?"

Once the smaller of the two nodded the taller one turned to leave. The smaller figure remained where they stood for a moment longer, pulling out two pieces of paper.

"We'll meet eventually, I'd bet on it." Was all the figure said before turning to leave herself.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to free the prisoners of this camp. Itzal and Zarina were the ones that went around unlocking the containers and crates of people, Zarina being the one to open the lock while it was Itzal who hauled the doors of these containers and crates open. It would normally take two or three normal men to open those doors but Itzal had zero issue on his own.

Francis stood atop one of the boxes, observing the slaves as they were freed and yelled for people's attention telling them to heading down the path they'd come from saying it lead to a town that would gladly help them. Most of the people looked like they could use fresh clothes and something to eat in some cases but none of them looked to be hurt or in any immediate danger due to their health. Sherlock simply sat perched by his feet.

Arabella stood nearby guiding people as well but she mainly wanted check the crowds to see if there were any that were struggling in any way. Luckily everyone seemed to be managing, with some help from the townsfolk she was sure they'd be fine.

During the whole process there was a chorus of thank yous and cheers from most, some had confused expressions as if they couldn't believe they were free. Some even cried of happiness.

All around a good day for most.

As the last few prisoners left the camp the group gathered by the crate Francis was stood on. Itzal, Zarina and Arabella all gathered around while Francis plopped down letting his legs dangle over the edge. Sherlock leapt over to Itzal and clung to his arm.

"I guess we're done here." Arabella began the conversation, "Nothing left for us here so let's head back to town."

The group was largely in agreement from the looks they gave each other however Itzal seemed… off?

Of the group it was Francis that asked, "Itzal, something wrong?" That's when Arabella stepped back also sensing something amiss. Now it was the both of them.

"What's wrong with you two?" Francis asked again.

Itzal and Arabella immediately turned away from them to stare off in the same direction.

Arabella actually seemed taken aback for a moment while Itzal went wide eyed. Before Zarina and Francis turned to see what had caught their attention they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey guys…" The voice sounded to be in some serious pain, "Where've yous been…?" The voice half groaned, half joked out.

Zarina and Francis turned to the source of the voice the sight that greeted. Francis recoiled slightly while Zarina was stunned.

The sight that greeted them was a very bloody and wounded missing member, Rob. There were blood stains that ran down the right side of his face, his pants had blood splattered over them but by far the worst part of all was the wound that ran down his chest, shirt shredded. On his left side the huge wound leaked a large portion of blood, the wound ran from the top of his shoulder straight down his chest to his left hip. He was a blood smeared mess. His expression showed one of pain but he still wore a stupid smirk on his face.

"Something.. wrong..?" He half joked out as he clutched his left side with his right arm.

"What the fuck happened to you?!" Francis yelled out as the group rushed over to Rob, Itzal immediately grabbed his left arm and threw it over his shoulder to help carry him even if he'd walk this far fine on his own while Francis held onto his right just to make sure. Sherlock dropped off Itzal and stood close to his feet, hand resting on his leg, examining him with the others.

"Where have you been this whole time?! What happened?!" Francis continued to yell, this looked absolutely awful. Zarina remained silent the whole time thus far, she had no idea what to say to a wound like that.

"You going to be okay?" Itzal asked surprisingly calmly, although it did sound like he was worried for his friend he seemed to be okay with all this, almost as if he had been anticipating this.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Arabella asked taking a serious look at the wound. She'd seen wounds like that before and they were normally on a corpse.

"I… tripped..?" Was his smartass of an answer which appropriately got him a little, almost tap of a smack from Zarina.

"Take this seriously." Was all she said still remaining as calm as possible, it was hard but she kept her more stoic expression. All she got was a small chuckle.

"Come on! We need to get him into town now!" Francis directed the group, his marine training kicking in, always help a wounded comrade. "Let's move Itzal!"

But they were stopped by Rob who stood strong on his own feet, even if they weren't as strong as they usually were. "I can walk back… eventually."

Francis was about to protested but was stopped by Itzal. "Leave him, he can do it himself." He told him in a completely serious tone. His response genuinely surprised Francis, why would Itzal not want to assist his friend but he stopped himself and stepped back. This wasn't right in Francis' opinion but who was he to decide what these two do, they did what they wanted after all.

"Alright let's go." With that both Itzal and Rob began to walk back to town side by side. You could visually see the pain Rob was in by the way he moved but he kept going regardless.

Sherlock twitched in concern, animals were able to tell when something was hurt. Sherlock knew the red one was wounded. Sherlock stood on the spot before crawling at speed to reach Itzal again.

Francis remained still for a moment before shaking himself from his stupor. ' _What the hell is up with the both of them…_ ' He slowly began to follow them leaving Zarina and Arabella.

Zarina and Arabella fell behind still standing where they'd first checked on Rob. Arabella turned to see the blood trail from where this _Rob_ guy had come from. One question popped into her mind but she needed to know something first. "How strong is that guy? The red head?"

Zarina didn't answer for a second, "Same as Itzal if I had to say." Was her reply, her gaze was on the guys that had left still in their view.

"Then what the hell managed to do **that** to him?" Arabella asked to nobody in particular, Zarina picked up on the tone of voice so she knew she wasn't expecting an answer.

"We should catch up with them." Arabella quickly changed the subject. Both her and Zarina began to make their own way back to catch up to the guys. Each of them had their own thoughts about this _problem_.

Rob had some explaining to do.

* * *

An hour had passed since the group had arrived back in town, the townspeople were shocked and horrified by the sight of their wounded comrade. People immediately rushed to get him medical aid but unfortunately they didn't have an surgeons on the island to stitch up such a serious wound so they had to get a two tailors to do it instead despite their protests they still caved and eventually went to stitch the pirate back together.

The operation itself took about forty minutes itself and another ten to clean up afterward. The two tailors would be scarred after having to do that but they were also proud to help Itzal and the others in anyway they could.

The job itself was poor at best but it would keep him together, for now it would have to do.

At the moment the group had left Rob to rest for abit but Zarina, Francis and Arabella each had their own questions they wanted answered. Until then they were all outside, the townsfolk, despite what had happened, decided to celebrate!

They'd sent their own people to restrain and tie down every single slaver there was and dragged them off to a small cramped cell. After they'd began to drink, cook food and generally party. For the first time in years they were free of this burden.

Arabella, Zarina and Francis all sat off to the side outside the building Rob was in, Arabela sat on the ground legs crossed, Zarina sat on a step while Francis leaned against the wall next to them. They'd been given fresh food and drink which they took politely. Arabella gladly took the meal and ate it wholeheartedly, no point wasting good food. Zarina picked at it, every now and then taking a bite while Francis was too concerned with his thoughts to think of food.

Itzal had joined in the celebrations and danced with a couple of the townspeople around a small bonfire. Even Sherlock had joined him and was leaping all over the place. While the celebrations were warranted Francis was still confused by Itzals lack of consideration for Robs condition.

"I know he cares, that part of him seems genuine but why does this seem to not bother him." Francis mostly asked himself, he hoped for an answer from Zarina or Arabella. "Why is he so okay with this?"

"Ask him yourself." Zarina answered simply, "Itzal is… brutally honest with others, if you want to know something about Itzal the best person to ask is Itzal himself."

She had a fair point, he was blunt to a fault so that would be the best course of action.

"So does that Rob guy get hurt a lot?" Arabella asked out of the blue, still gnawing away at her food. She figured these two should know something about him.

"I haven't seen him get injured like that before, every time I've seen him or Itzal fight they've always won with minor wounds." Zarina explained, "But to be fair I have no idea what they've gone through before I met them." She paused for a second, "I actually saw Rob had some big scars already besides the one over his right eye."

"So he can take it." Arabella concluded.

"Isn't that besides the point?" Francis intervened, "A wound like that is no joke whether you can take it or not."

"You do have a point but at the same time did Rob seem to care?" Zarina countered, "Of all people who should care the most it should be Rob and yet he didn't. It seemed like Itzal just came to a mental agreement in his head. As if those two knew something we didn't."

There was a brief pause.

"Those guys are weird." Arabella blurted out cheerily, slamming her fist on the ground next to them.

This got Zarina and Francis to sweatdrop at that remark, even if they kinda saw it coming, a small sigh and a shake of the head came from them both respectively.

"You're one to talk…" Zarina carelessly countered as she sipped her drink, to which Arabella immediately responded.

"Awww! Thank you!"

Francis couldn't help but chuckle at that stupid yet entertaining response. It thankfully distracted him from some of his thoughts, he had to admit Zarina was right about the both of them. ' _You're more involved with those two that you'd like to admit…_ '

"We really shouldn't waste this celebration." Arabella conceded, "There's nothing we can do for him right now, we can't really help your friend. Might as well enjoy ourselves. Let's get in there and celebrate with the rest of them! We can deal with this later." Arabella hopped up from where she stood, ax still on her back and went over to join in the festivities leaving Zarina and Francis behind.

"You going?" Francis asked Zarina but he kind of knew what answer was coming.

"No thank you," She put her food down next to her, "I think I'll wait awhile. I have some thoughts to collect."

Francis gave her a small nod of understanding, his gaze turned to the sky above. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

 **I'd like to begin by apologizing for the delays with this chapter. Life got busy over the last two months and will still be busy for the next two or three weeks but after that it should be open seas and smooth sailing so to speak. I hope at least I made the wait worth it. Left a few small details in there, someone reading this will recognize a certain someone in this chapter. (You know who you are.)**

 **This arc really should be wrapping up soon, the next chapter should be the crew finally leaving for their next misadventure in the East Blue and that next misadventure should be their last before we finally reach Reverse Mountain and the Grandline, once we're there the chaos really begins and crew mates should be joining left, right and centre so if your OC isn't here yet they should be soon.**

 **Thanks for all the continued support on this story!**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	12. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 12)

**Chapter 12 - Just keep going**

* * *

The town partied on through the night, even getting some of the freed slaves to join in the merriment. Others prefer to just rest and allow their wounds and tired bones to recover. Of our rag-tag group, it was Itzal, Arabella and Sherlock that partook in the festivities. It was Zarina and Francis that chose to sit this one out. Whether they realized it or not they were in the same boat.

The next day Francis was off somewhere in town, Zarina wasn't sure where he had disappeared to although she suspected he was quite preoccupied with his thoughts of the future and possibly still trying to understand what happened yesterday. Itzal and Arabella had disappeared for a while too. They were probably resting in some inn further in town. The whole group was given a place to rest that night which they were all grateful for, Zarina, in particular, was very grateful for some rest. Those fights the other day drained her both physically and mentally, a growing trend it seemed.

But at this moment Zarina stood within a short distance of the harbor, her eyes lay on the workers still dealing with the destroyed ships from the other day however her mind was elsewhere.

Zarina faced a numerous amount of choices for her future having made it to this island she could finally go free, she could begin her quest to find a place to hide away from the World Government, a place she would eventually grow to call home but that was the problem. Where could she go?

She took a slow deep breath as her mind finalized the challenges she'd have to face in her mind.

' _The journey of a thousand steps begins with the choice to start in the first place…_ ' She thought to herself, she'd have to begin somewhere and the more time she wasted the harder it could get for her.

While she was certainly concerned for her own future some thoughts that lingered in her mind were of Itzal and Rob. Specifically about what happened between them the other day.

"What goes through their heads," Zarina asked aloud, her finger tracing the hilt of her rapier, she knew she wouldn't get an answer just standing here. The only two who could answer that question were Itzal and Rob themselves and they sure as hell were going to answer that, not just for her own sake but Francis' as well.

Her thoughts and plans being so distracting she failed to notice an individual slowly sneak up behind her.

"Boo!" The person shouted, inches away from Zarinas' ear. The sudden scare nearly caused her to physically jump into the air but what she mainly did was flinch quite drastically, stumble forward away from the source of the fright and immediately reach for her rapier once she balanced herself from her little stumble forward.

However, she didn't draw her rapier once she realized who it was and what exactly was said to frighten her. Zarina may not have drawn her rapier but her irritation at the jumpscare was tempting her regardless but she controlled that urge, controlling her emotions like she always does.

On surface level at least.

"Miss Lovelace." Zarina almost growled out, she was almost glaring over her glasses but she took a deep breath instead of verbally abusing the other woman. Instead, she just brushed it off, letting it slide this time. She'd ask her not to do that to either herself or other people in the future.

Arabella, on the other hand, had the grin of a Cheshire cat, sticking out her tongue in a cheeky manner, her hands on her hips. Her pose and posture displayed nothing but sass from the helmswoman.

"Zzzaaaaarina!" She countered at hearing her name, she took note of the little hint of displeasure knowing instantaneously it was due to that little playful sneak attack. But to get back on track as to why she came over in the first place. "What are you doing over here all by your lonesome?" She'd spotted Zarina off to the side as she was strutting around town for something fun to do, after spotting Zarina she thought she'd hang around with her for a bit. The other day proved that Zarina and the bunch she ran with were interesting and exciting people, that's the kind of people Arabella always found fun to play with.

"So you noticed me hm?" Zarina stated, it appeared as a question but obviously didn't need an answer so she continued, "I've just been think about recent events and how they affect the future." Zarinas' neutral tone and more stoically calm demeanor returned.

"What's there to think about? It seems pretty obvious to me." Arabella responded, "Just keep runnin with the boys you have been."

"You make it sound so simple yet it's not." Zarina countered, both of them standing together side by side as they turned their view to the harbor. "If I'm honest, I had considered it."

This would be surprising to hear if she'd said that to any of the guys however since she has only just told this to Arabella the impact was lost. Arabella didn't know her very well or for very long either so she didn't fully understand Zarinas' side. She was naturally good at reading people's characters but Zarina was slightly more complex than she initially realized.

"Considering it means you that thought about it but ultimately decided against it, so why not?" Arabella questioned. It was true, the fact she **had considered** that option meant she wasn't going to go with that choice.

"Lingering doubts," Zarina responded somewhat vaguely at first, once she caught a glance of Arabella's slightly confused expression she decided to clarify it. "I have doubts about both myself and my future with them. It still seems so uncertain. To start I'm not sure where Francis will be going, from what I can immediately tell he isn't going with Itzal and Rob meaning if I'm going to stick with them it would be just those two."

"So this Francis guy is in the same situation as you then?" She questioned, not really needing an answer. Zarinas' explanation thus far was enough. "Figures, you two seemed very similar. I get a similar vibe from both of you, hell if you two looked more alike people would mistake you as siblings I bet."

While Zarina didn't respond physically in her head she quickly assessed the statement, it actually rang true in some areas.

"I can't argue with that, we're in similar situations. We both can't go back and we have nowhere to go forward." Admitted Zarina.

"Have you asked him about it? What he plans to do?" Arabella questioned. It was odd how she was the one attempting to guide her but hey, it felt good to help her. "Maybe he has something in mind that might inspire you."

"A thought for another time but back to what I was saying, if I were to go with Itzal I'm not sure I can make it. I can't do the things they do, I can't fight like they do, I can't survive any obstacle that gets in their way like they can." To her credit she was right, she couldn't fight the same battles they could. The hardships those two faced would certainly be the end of her.

"Then don't, do what you can do girl!" Arabella rather loudly argued, slightly surprising Zairina by the sudden loud upbeat tone. She was loud enough to catch the momentary attention of some of the townsfolk nearby. "You don't gotta fight the battles they do, fight your own battles! Did you see what you did yesterday? You fought off slavers for peat sake! Sure they were tough for you but when they got too tough for you who helped you out? The rest of us that were there! You just got to do the best you can, when you reach your limit, pass on the torch to one of the boys and they'll get you there the rest of the way."

That was quite the confident and logical speech Arabella just gave without fully realizing it. Her cheery outlook and positive nature just made the answer seem obvious to her so why couldn't she give some of that positive reinforcement to Zarina?

"Look," Arabella continued, this time she was no longer shouting, "I haven't known those guys very long, especially the redhead since all I got to see from him was his own blood, but that Itzal guy seems like a naturally nice guy. I'm sure he'd be the type of guy that would welcome almost anyone with a decent character and you would be just fine with them."

"He wouldn't leave me behind would he…" Zarina half stated half questioned. There a brief and peaceful moment of silence between the two. "Miss Lovelace," Zarina began causing Arabella to fully turn to face her, "Thanks for the advice."

Arabella just smiled cheerily at her, "Any time sister!" She said as she gave her quite the powerful pat on the back. _Ouch._

* * *

Itzal continued to wander the streets of the town, Sherlock perched on his shoulder. After waking up this morning after last night's festivities Itzal decided he wanted to check out the town some more, yesterday had been hectic and busy so he was sure there were things and places he'd missed.

Itzal found quite a few places like a small library and a so-called cursed store. Itzal examined quite a few books during his time in that library, mainly supernatural and adventure novels and books but hey, he was learning a few things from them. The cursed store, however, was filled with oddities such as objects related to witchcraft, voodoo and black magic.

While intrigued by such things Itzal wasn't one to mess with the supernatural and things of that freaky nature so he took a quick look around to get an idea of the type of these found there then swiftly retreated outside again.

The store he had just left had offered Itzal and Sherlock some free fruit, which both the man and the monkey were grateful for. Itzal munched on an apple whilst the monkey chewed away at a banana, as expected.

Just before Itzal continued onto another store he was approached by the woman from before, the who owned the restaurant, Aki.

"Hey there!" Itzal began with a small wave of the hand that held his apple. He paused once he saw her expression, it seemed she had something to say to him.

"Yes, hello," She quickly began, a small pause allowing herself to catch her breath. "I went to find you as soon as I could. Your injured friend is wake and waiting for you at the inn." She sounded somewhat worried judging by her tone, "He's refusing to rest any longer, he was going to just get up and leave if I hadn't told him to wait there while I fetch you instead." She explained, "Lucius went to look for your other friends to inform them as well." Aki swiftly added on at the end.

Judging by her expression and tone she was rather concerned for the young man, she clearly didn't want him to push himself and reopen that wound because that would be certain death if a wound like that opened again.

"So he's ready to go is he," Itzal stated more than asked, at that moment he smiled. "That's great! So we can send off soon!"

Wait, what?!

Aki was stunned, "You're… you aren't going to try and stop him?" She asked incredulously. How could he say such a thing?

"Nope," Itzal shrugged with a smile, "Besides I'm sure he isn't one to wait around and do nothing. He'll probably just say something like he'll rest on the ship or the next island." he argued, not many people understood Robs mentally but after witnessing what his first mate had done yesterday Itzal figured him out in that single moment. He was sure the others would want answers for his actions so he'd have to attempt to explain the situation.

Aki still didn't fully comprehend why Itzal was out with his friend possibly injuring himself if he happened to strain his body too much.

She tilted her head at Itzal giving him an analyzing gaze, "Young man, I just can't seem to understand you."

Her reaction got a small chuckle from Itzal while Sherlock chirped away happily on his shoulder, "I got that a lot while I was younger." His words had a hidden meaning to them that obviously went over Akis' head but the surface level statement made it loud and clear. "So he's still at the inn he was yesterday?" He asked to confirm.

Aki nodded, "He's waiting for you specifically, I believe he wanted to leave when you were ready but I think he might have also wanted a word with you himself."

"Alright! Let's get going then!" Itzal moved over to Aki as they both began to walk back to the inn Rob was waiting for them in. He had his fill of exploring the town and with the celebrations last he had plenty of fun. Itzal had actually spent a bit of time learning the culture of this island but it was about time to leave now.

Aki walked alongside Itzal, Sherlock still on his shoulder, every few steps she gave him a curious side glance. Her thoughts were of this man's mind, what kind of man was he to have such an outlook?

However, she remained silent and their trip back to Itzals' first mate.

* * *

Francis stood off on his own along a small trail that followed the curve of a hill, buried in his own thoughts. He stood perfectly upright, hands behind his back, feet wide enough to be stable. You could see his marine upbringing through his body language but that's beside the point.

Francis was mulling over his bewildered thoughts of what he saw from Itzal and Rob, more specifically Itzal. Itzal truly surprised him yesterday by his reaction at seeing his first mate in such a poor state, from what Francis had seen of Itzal it didn't fully make sense. Itzal seemed to be kind, open and honest about everything yet when Rob showed up he showed concern for only a moment before going to a more neutral state, he didn't say a word about why he did it. Itzal hadn't been open with them as to what happened between them. Itzal was brutally honest and yet he seemed to ignore the issue. Why?! Francis rather enjoyed his time with Itzal and the others thus, sure his rational mind clashed with Itzals ambitious one but that was interesting to Francis, to see how different they can be.

' _Itzal, you're more complicated than you seem on the surface._ ' Francis thought to himself, humming while he did for a moment, ' _I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, there is far more to you then a kind soul and a big dreamer._ '

His thoughts were interrupted however as a voice called out to him. "Francis right?" The voice said in a smooth, neutral tone.

Francis turned his head to where the voice came from to see Lucius approaching him. Francis gave him a nod of the head as both a greeting and to confirm his name was Francis.

"Good, glad to know my memory is still in one piece." Lucius joked as he stood next to the young man. "It's good I managed to actually find one of his friends, I came to tell you your friend is awake and he's attempting to leave."

Francis turned to him with a slightly disbelieving expression on his face, "Rob's trying to leave? While as wounded as he is?" Francis asked, however, he continued on without letting Lucius answer. "What is wrong with him?!" Frustration leaked through his words.

Lucius just watched Francis for a moment, "Don't blame yourself lad, there is nothing you can do about those kinds of men."

Francis turned to face Lucius, "What do you mean?"

Lucius placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment before releasing him and crossing his own arms, "This might sound odd but I've heard of that kind of man." He began, tilting his head back slightly, "I have no personal experience with anyone like him before but I've heard stories from my own parents. I heard about what happened, about how this Itzal fellow reacted and how Rob did as well."

"Anything would help to understand those two and what happened," Francis stated hoping he would continue.

"You want to understand why neither of them cared about what happened? To me, it seems like they are committed to something. Willing to go through hell like your friend went through, to them life isn't worth it by itself. They are willing to sacrifice what they have for what they believe despite the pain they might face." Lucius attempted to explain, while he didn't know if it helped the young man or not he hoped it did.

Little did Lucius know it actually helped more than he realized, Francis' thoughts immediately went back to his time on the ship with Itzal. The conversation, or rather speech Itzal had given him about the dreams of man, the ambitions of the people. While it didn't fit together at this moment you could see it was linked, it was a puzzle to understand Itzal and Rob but he had another piece to it. He'd made progress.

"Thanks," Francis replied simply.

Lucius smiled, "Hope I helped. Come on," He gestured with his arm to the town, "We need to find your other friends and inform them of the young man's situation." He laughed nervously to himself though, "Although I'm not sure where they might be."

Francis did, however, "I believe I saw Arabella near the docks earlier. I was busy with my thoughts so I didn't approach her but she appeared to be hanging around that area with a bored expression on her face." Needlessly noting she was bored.

"Then let's go." With that, they both took off to look for Zarina and Arabella. Francis was rather quiet on the way back, the puzzle in his head took shape but had yet to be complete and he knew who could help him get the final pieces.

* * *

Itzal, Sherlock and Aki arrived at the inn Rob had been recovering in, they passed through the inn lobby toward the room Rob had been stitched back together in.

Aki paused at the door but Itzal didn't and just sort of barged in, not that anyone cared especially Rob of all people.

Itzal and Aki found Rob sitting on the bed, he looked up to the door when they'd entered. The first thing people would notice was how Rob wore his new shirt. He wore a new yellow short-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned revealing the bandages that covered his torso. You could see faint traces of blood on the bandages were Robs' wound was. He still wore his attire from the other day meaning his trousers, boots, gloves, and hat remained the same.

"So you're ready to go?" Itzal asked walking up to Rob.

He smirked at his comrade, "That I am but I wanted to talk to you for a second if you don't mind."

Itzal just smiled back at his first mate, "Not a problem at all! Fire away." Sherlock also chirped away happily, scampering up and down Itzals arm.

Before Rob began Aki spoke up, "I'll leave you to it then, I'll go to inform your other friends of your current state." Aki saw that this was a conversation between these two young men so she was going to give them privacy for their discussion.

"Thanks, Aki but if you find them would you tell them to meet us at the harbor, I'm sure this won't take long," Itzal replied with a smile while Rob stood just behind him with a smirk of his own.

Aki looked at the two for a moment and gave her own small smile before departing the room in search of Itzals comrades.

Itzals' attention turned back to his first mate, "You doing okay?" He asked, oddly cheerful despite the question.

"Alive and kicking," Rob responded, his smirk only grew as he began to speak again, "So, I just wanted to say thanks for yesterday. It's good to know there is someone who understands what we do and the life we chose to live." His comment was rather vague to anyone else besides the two involved, others would be confused by it.

Itzal chuckled at his statement, "Yeah, I understand ya. You know the others are going to want answers though, especially about your injuries." Itzal pointed out.

His first mate just shrugged it off, however, "I'm sure they will. I'll figure something out." He gave Itzal a playful jab at his shoulder, the one without Sherlock on it of course. "They'll probably want something from you too, I'd bet money on it after how you were so nonchalant about yesterday."

Itzal rubbed the back of his rather sheepishly, "Maybe, I probably shouldn't have been so sudden in my change in attitude." But he quickly defended himself, "But that's exactly what you wanted to be fair. I got your message loud and clear."

Rob laughed at his friend, "Yeah well that's your problem." The first mate began to walk toward the door but paused as he stood off to Itzals, side. "One other thing," He placed a hand on his captain's free shoulder, "After everything that's happened I just wanted to say I'm with you till the end, Itzal."

Itzal responded by placing a hand on his first mates' shoulder as well, "I'll be counting on you from here on out, alright?"

They both removed their hands from one another's shoulders, Rob placing his hands into his pockets while Itzals arms hung by his side. The vice-captain smiled, "Understood, captain."

They both smirked before turning to leave, Itzal smirked at being called captain while Rob smirked at his reaction.

"Alright then, let's go set sail!" Itzal exclaimed as they walked out of the room. Rob just gave a small nod while Sherlock did a little flip. They were off!

* * *

Aki patrolled the streets of her small town, searching for her island saviors to inform them of their friend. She didn't have any lead as to where they could possibly be so she searched the main street. Unfortunately, she hadn't found them but she swiftly moved to the harbor in search of them.

Her eyes finally rested upon two women standing together, she recognized as Zarina and Arabella. While she may not have found the entire group with Francis at least she found the two young ladies of the group. Aki moved briskly across toward them both.

"Hello you two," She opened the conversation with while also gaining their attention. "Glad I found you both."

"Hello to you as well."

"Sup!"

Zarina and Arabella replied respectively to the greeting but it was Zarina that continued the conversation before Arabella could.

"You were looking for us?" Zarina questioned, her hand resting peacefully on her rapier gently rubbing with her thumb in a calm fashion. Arabella simply threw her hands up and behind her head in a casual manner.

Aki tilted her head, "Indeed I was, I wanted to tell you your friend is awake and on his way here." She informed them both which got two different yet similar reactions.

Zarinas' was a subtle surprise that turned into a concerned look before finally resting on a disbelieving and frustrated sigh with a mumble of, " _idiot"_.

Arabella, on the other hand, whistled loudly, "Woah, that's impressive to hear he's back up already but damn is he stupid to get up after a wound like that." Arabella was both impressed and completely understood only an idiot would run about with a wound that wasn't fully stitched together.

Aki observed both their reactions, they both seemed reasonable but she certainly wouldn't call what the young red-haired man was doing impressive.

"Have either of you any idea of where the young man, Francis, would be? I haven't been able to find him." Before either Zarina or Arabella could speak they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Present." A simple word but the voice gave it away. Zarina and Arabella glanced across the way to where the voice had come from while Aki had to fully turn around. They saw it was both Francis and Lucius that were approaching.

Aki smiled at seeing her husband arrive, "So you found the missing piece did you?" Aki and Lucius gracefully moved to stand beside one another.

Lucius grinned as Francis stepped closer to his two comrades, "I did indeed, it seems you beat us to find the two young ladies." His statement only got a happy hum from Aki as they both faced the trio. "I assume they already know of the situation?"

"They do, however," Aki glanced toward Francis, "Both Itzal and your friend are on their way here as we speak I'm sure." The surprise on Francis' and Lucius' faces made it clear they didn't realize the injured redhead was up and moving again and ready to leave.

' _He's completely insane._ ' Francis couldn't help think after hearing that news, the man could have been killed, was barely patched up, in need of a real doctor to stitch him up and decides to fuck the wound, get up and set sail.

"So this is where we see them off is it?" Francis asked, his question mostly directed as Zarina. He knew that Zarina and himself had stated that this was where they were going to part ways. Itzal had gotten them both out of a pinch, saved them for a faith they didn't want and now were free to go where they wanted.

Zarina didn't say anything at the question, instead choosing to let it hang in the air. Perhaps she didn't want to answer it but regardless no answer came.

"Speak of the devil," Arabella muttered to the group as the man himself showed up with his first mate and his monkey companion.

Itzal, Rob and Sherlock had arrived on the scene. Each of them without a care in the world.

The group shifted to allow Itzal and Rob to join in however as they joined the group they failed to see the gathering of people at the harbor take full notice of them. While none of them said anything they smiled gratefully at the group.

"How's everybody doing?" Itzal asked cheerily, Rob remained silent for the moment but he just kept a casual smile on his face as he watched the group.

"Recovered." Francis answered him before glancing over at the bandages on Robs' torso, "Most of us anyway."

While it was clear what he was referring to neither Itzal or Rob said anything about it.

"Ah! That's good!" Itzals' attention focused in on Arabella first. "Thanks again for helping yesterday."

Arabella just shrugged with a playful smirk on her face, "No problem! It was a fun time." She responded, "But Itzal, I wanted to ask you something. I'd like to repay the favor further, you helped uncover what was going on here so I'd like to help you get to the Grandline." Arabella explained.

"You don't owe us anything." Itzal attempted to argue but was quickly shut down by Arabella.

"Nonsense! Besides, I'll be heading that way myself so I'd be glad to help get you there as well. I'm a top tier helmswoman after all, I'll make sure you get there in one piece."

Itzal blinked at her for a moment before turning to his first mate, possibly wanting a second opinion on the suggestion. Having Arabella on the crew would be a tremendous help, she claimed to be a fantastic helmswoman while also being one hell of a fighter.

Rob just shrugged, however, "Your call."

Itzals' eyes shifted back to Arabella before he fully turned to face her with a smile, "It'll be great to have you aboard!" Itzal stated rather energetically.

Arabella smirked at his words, "I'm sure ya won't regret it!"

Itzals' attention then shifted to Aki and Lucius, "Thanks for giving us a place to stay last night, the festivities were great." He gave them a small bow in gratitude. "And for helping my friend." Gesturing toward his first mate who gave them both a nod of his in appreciation.

"Of course dear, it was the very least we could for those who saved our small island," Aki responded for both herself and her husband. To be honest that would have gone for the whole town as well.

Finally, Itzals' attention befell Zarina and Francis, "So what are you two going to do?" He asked, his tone being somewhat deflated. It was clear to some that he didn't really want either of them to go, he'd grown attached to having them around even if their time together was short but he knew they had their own wishes and desires, he'd rather see them both follow the path they choose to walk.

A brief silence came from both Francis and Zarina, honestly, they weren't sure what to tell him. They'd planned to part ways here but that was it at the moment. Luckily for both of them, they were interrupted by a woman. It was one of the people who had helped tend to Robs' wounds, by the looks of it she seemed to have a message for them judging by the fact she had shouted over to them whilst she ran in their direction.

As she reached them, slightly out of breath, she spoke to Itzal and the group. "You guys should get outta here," She began, still a bit shaky, "A damaged marine ship was sighted on the other side of the island. If you want to run, now would be the time!" The woman informed the group.

The group as a whole had varying reactions to hearing this.

Rob was the first to respond to the news, "About time." Was all he said, a bit too nonchalantly for some.

Francis and Zarina seemed to be the most troubled by this, "They must have sent people after us." Francis guessed, ' _I doubt they'd let us go without a fight after all._ '

"Unfortunately." Zarina agreed, however that was on the surface. Deep down this might not be as bad as it sounds, her thoughts pieced together what she was going to do next. She assumed Francis was doing the same. ' _However, why is the ship damaged?_ ' She thought, noting that small detail.

Arabella was more curious than anything else, "They're after you lot? What did you lot do before ya got here?"

Itzal hummed for a second, "Welp! Looks like we're leaving now then."

Rob didn't argue with him, he was the captain after all. Arabella wasn't going to argue either, she wanted to get to the Grandline as soon as possible, leaving now only allows them to get there sooner in her mind.

Aki, Lucius, and the town woman looked between each member of the group, they were surprisingly calm. To be fair they could understand why Zarina and Francis were as calm as they were since they didn't seem like pirates or the type to have a bounty but the other three were definitely on some kind of watch list, had a bounty or were going to get one.

The townsfolk that had gathered around the harbor had overheard the mention of marines, while none of them had any reason to fear the marines but they knew some of their saviors might.

"Let's set sail!" Itzal stated, his happy go lucky attitude still as strong as ever. His statement got an _Ay_ from Rob and an _Alrighty_ from Arabella.

Zarina chimed in next though, "Itzal, can I ask a favor?"

Itzal turned to face her, "Of course!"

She straightened her posture and cleared her throat, "Can I accompany you to the next island. I fear that with marines being on this island that I'll be caught if I stay. Therefore I'd ask you to take me to the next island so I can depart on my way." Zarina explained her case in a clear tone and manner.

"You're always welcome aboard Zarina!" Itzal countered immediately, "I'm glad to have you around for a little longer." He admitted. A small fond smile briefly formed on Zarinas' lips at hearing that but she quickly continued.

"Thank you kindly." She responded, grateful she could keep going to get to a safer place.

That was four out of five members counted for, that left Francis.

Francis wasn't sure what he wanted to do but there was one thing for certain he wanted to know. Francis turned his entire body to Itzal. "Itzal," He began, gaining not only Itzals attention but everyone elses in the group, "Please, explain to me what happened between you and Rob yesterday. Help me understand why you didn't seem to care about Rob's injuries. Why Rob didn't care for those injuries." Francis asked, his tone serious while at the same time all most begging in nature, "Explain to me why you both acted the way you did."

The whole group went silent at the sudden questioning, Aki and Lucius, in particular, didn't know what to do. Zarina and Arabella, on the other hand, were actually curious themselves for different reasons, Zarina wanting to understand the mindset they seemingly shared and Arabella just wanted to hear their crazy excuse.

Everyone perked up to try and listen closely to what Itzal had to say.

Itzal paused for a moment, he scratched his chin in thought. Sherlock leaped from his shoulder and landed on Robs' right shoulder. Rob stepped back to allow more spotlight to be left on Itzal. He obviously didn't need to hear Itzals answer, the question involved him too. Besides, he already knew.

"Put it simply, it's choice." Itzal began, his answer not completely satisfying the group, however, he wasn't done yet. His tone and volume got louder every so often. "You don't understand the choices we made because you don't fully understand the path we chose to walk. The path leading to our individual ambitions!" Itzals' gaze turned to the sky for a brief moment, "My ambition is to become the Pirate King! To find the One Piece! To achieve a level of freedom nobody else has! An ambition that many would call me foolish or crazy for. And Rob is the very same with his own ambition! To challenge the strongest the world has to offer, to overcome them and become one of the strongest men alive! You wonder why we didn't care for the injuries? It's because we know what our paths hold in store for us! Do you think we don't understand what we're aiming for? Our paths lead to our success or our death! We know death lay ahead and we accept it, we know the costs of our ambitions and we are willing to pay for it, we know how difficult it will be but we shall go anyway! We know we shall face death and we shall fight it! We didn't care for those injuries because we knew they weren't going to stop us! Rob accepts the injuries he took but will go on regardless! I am the same! What obstacles come my way I shall fight it head-on until I pass it! For that is what it takes, that to achieve an impossible ambition we must accept and deal with everything that comes our way until the day we achieve that ambition! We must be fearless in the pursuit of what sets our very souls on fire! What would you do if you weren't afraid? Everything that others fear to try! The obstacles that we find on our path are testing us to see if what we believe in is worth fighting for! It all comes down to the fact we accept the struggles we face, we shall face them, fight them and overcome them!" Itzal exclaimed, he could feel his heart pump, his mind racing, and his blood flowing just from simply speaking of his ambition and his determination to achieve it.

The group was stunned into silence, not one of them having a word to say to his speech, not because they couldn't understand his words but because they couldn't deny or argue it. It was true, you had to accept the risks along your path to the top.

Little did Itzal realize but his speech had gotten a lot louder than he had intended as all the townsfolk around were silent watching as this young man gave such a speech.

Of everyone who could have broken the silence, it was the other half that started this enigma. "Couldn't have said it better myself Itzal," Rob stated with an impressive smirk plastered on his face, he chuckled to himself. "You're far better at speeches than I ever could be." He added the little jab at himself.

Itzal smiled at his first mate before turning back to the rest of the group.

It was Arabella that spoke first, "Well, that's one well of speech you gave. Hell! It's got me pumped!" She admitted, "Let's set sail already! I'll be looking forward to seeing what other inspirational madness you create!" Arabella strolled up past Itzal over to Rob as the two waited for Itzal. She enjoyed that speech, it got the blood flowing for her and motivated her for her own ambition. To see others with such strong ambitions only made it fun.

"Quite the speech Itzal, I'll admit I'm pleasantly surprised and inspired by your words and to get a glimpse into your drive and motivation. If I didn't have the common sense to see the impossible I'd dare say you, and only you could be the next Pirate King. When we part ways on the next island I'll be satisfied to see in a newspaper one day in the future that you were crowned the Pirate King." While it might not have been worded in the nicest way it was still one hell of a compliment, especially one from as reasonable and logical as Zarina. For her to admit Itzal could achieve something that was logically impossible was nothing to laugh at. She moved passed Aki, Lucius, and Francis over to the rest of the group that were ready to head toward the ship, all that remained was Francis.

"Itzal," He began, having been the one to ask the question in the first place it was his response that mattered the most. "You're unbelievable. The first conversation we had aboard your ship sparked the ambition I had. It gave it a chance to breathe and survive," He turned to each member of the group, "But after hearing that speech, I can see that ambition spark back to life in my heart and mind. Maybe it's a good thing, maybe it's not. I'm fired up to go for it but now I have to get there." He smiled at Itzal as he walked up to him, "You sparked a passion that overrides my rational side, to chase a dream I thought I couldn't. I don't know if I will chase it but it's there. I have to put some real effort into my future now. You solved one problem I had but gave me another to deal with."

Itzal just chuckled at his friend, "Sorry for causing you trouble!" Was his somewhat cheeky response.

"Another question, mind taking me to the next island too? If I'm putting thought into my own future and ambition I'd rather do it in a safe place and not whilst I'm captured by some marines." Francis asked.

Itzal didn't even respond to Francis, instead just maintaining his smile and turning to face the group as a whole. "Let's move!"

The group all smiled and smirked at his words as they turned to head toward the ship followed by Aki and Lucius leaving the stunned woman who had come to warn them of the marines.

Lucius leaned over to his wife's ear, "They're young, crazy and foolish aren't they?"

Aki giggled quietly between them, "The only ones who achieve the impossible are the ones foolish or crazy enough to try." Aki briskly countered. Her words putting a soft, fond smile on their faces. The group headed in the direction of their ship.

As they moved off the townsfolk that remained all watched from afar as the group neared their ship, all of them smiling and inspired by what they'd just witnessed.

* * *

Itzal and his band of misfits reached the ship they'd docked in the harbor during their arrival. In a few minutes, they'd be setting off leaving this island behind.

"A solid and decent ship," Arabella spoke as she examined the ship, taking note of its size, shape, and sails. As a helmswoman, she took note of such things if she was going to manning the helm, at some point she'd want to give this ship a bit of a push to see how well the ship sails but he'd have to ask Itzal about that. "What's its name?" She added.

Zarina stood off with Francis, they felt that the question was directed at the crew that owned the ship or at the least the captain of the ship. Aki and Lucius stood further away, watching their interaction.

"Uh, to be honest, it doesn't have a name," Itzal stated, his first mate nods his head toward Arabella to confirm Itzals words.

"Woah! Hang on! I'm not getting on a ship that doesn't have a name. It's bad luck!" She explained, putting her hands on her hips.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Zarina muttered to herself, Francis did pick up on it but didn't vocally comment on it. Although he was in the same mindset as Zarina, who cares if the ship is unnamed?

"Oh really? Then nobody gets on the ship until we name it." Itzal buying into what Arabella said. It was clear Itzal believed that sort of superstition if he wasn't going to get on his own ship until it was named. "Any ideas?" He asked the others around him.

"I don't have the right to name a ship that doesn't belong to me."

"It's really not that big of a deal."

"I'm not naming it."

Arabella, Francis, and Zarina replied respectively. Goes to show their thoughts on the matter. Itzal turned to his first mate but he didn't really help either.

"Your ship." Was all he replied with, leaving Itzal to come up with something.

He paused for a moment, he thought back to something from his past in an attempt to name the ship but he came up with nothing good. Itzals' gaze shifted to the sky above and that's when it hit him. He turned to _his_ ship.

"Day Strider. That will be its name." Itzal stated.

"I like it!"

"Creative."

"As expected from you."

"By your orders."

Arabella, Zarina, Francis, and Rob all replied. To be fair it was a good, strong name for a ship although it did make them curious as to why he chose that name. Someone would ask him about it later but for now, they needed to get off this island before a marine caught sight of them.

"Everybody on board!" Arabella exclaimed as she leaped onto and up the gangplank leading onto the Day Strider. She saw the helm of the ship, noting how well crafted it was. Moving over to it she rested her hand on it liking the feeling of it already. This was a good ship, no doubt about it!

Zarina just sighed, she found it hard to believe but she was willingly boarding this ship once again. Her mind was beginning to believe that this might become a common thing for her despite her best efforts.

Francis swiftly jogged up the plank, he knew he was going to be the one to chart their path to the next island so he was going to go grab a map and prepare while he had the chance.

Itzal, Rob and Sherlock were all that had yet to board now. Itzal spun his head in the direction of Aki and Lucius. "Thanks again forever!"

"Nonsense, it should us who is thanking you." Aki countered as she held onto her husband's hand, "You gave us our freedom today young man, that is something we can never truly repay."

Her words got a smile from the two remaining men standing before them but her next words confused Itzal.

"And don't worry about the supplies you ordered, they're already aboard your ship and are free of charge." Her tone still showing her gratitude. Itzal was confused however, what supplies? He never asked for any supplies. He turned to his first mate to see if he knew anything about but once Rob just looked away from him in a somewhat suspicious manner. He raised an eyebrow at his comrade but said nothing for the moment.

"Uhh, sure, thanks." Was all Itzal stated. But he quickly shook that off for now. "Take care!" he said as he and his first mate walked up the gangplank onto the Day Strider leaving Aki and Lucius on the harbor.

Once aboard Itzal noticed where everybody was, Arabella by the helm, Francis with a map and compass in hand near the helm. Zarina waiting by the railing at the top of the stairs. But they all waited for Itzal to reach them.

As he climbed the stairs past Zarina and approached Francis he spoke up, "I checked the map, the next island on the way to the Grandline is Loguetown. That's where we're heading correct?"

"Ay! That's the one!" Itzal responded, his response was heard loud and clear by Arabella as well.

"Alrighty, Loguetown it is!" Arabella exclaimed, spinning the wheel rapidly to turn the ship to face out to the open sea. "Open the mainsail!"

It was Rob who did that honor as he pulled on the rigging to release the mainsail, as it fell it caught wind suddenly, pulling the ship forward rather violently, everyone having to hold onto a railing of some kind not to fall over.

The ship was off!

Itzal, Francis, and Arabella all looked out to the sea, Francis glancing back to the compass as they were departing.

However, that's when Zarina noticed something, a small smile formed on her face as she looked back to the town. "Itzal, look." She said without taking her eyes off what she saw.

Everyone turned to Zarina and then to where she was facing. The sight that greeted them got a smile from everyone single person aboard, even a happy chirp from Sherlock too.

At the harbor stood a huge crowd of people all of them waving the crew off. A truly great thing to see the townspeople gathered like that. The crew took their chance to wave them off in their own way. From small and long waves to simply raising up their arm and giving it a shake.

But once that was over the crew turned back to the sea they faced. Their time on Tear island was done.

It was off to Loguetown.

* * *

 **A bit of a delay in this chapter, apologies but it was that time of year so I'm sure everyone was rather busy. I know it was for me anyway. I hope you all had a great start to the New Year and Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it.**

 **Luckily though it's a long enough chapter, over 8000 words. This is the arc over, wrapped up, done, finished so we're onto the next and final island of the East Blue. After that, we're onto Reverse Mountain and the Grandline.**

 **I do have a question though, I wanted to know if you would be interested in the small chapter between now and the next island. A small chapter just about the crew on the ship between then and now. Whether I make a small chapter or just add it to the chapter to the arrival chapter of the next island. Just wanted to know people's thoughts.**

 **(Little note: I'll be making a small side project involving both my One Piece SYOC stories. It'll basically be short stories of characters from both stories, some of its canon, some of it not. But it will also contain spoilers and will allow me to write about characters such as other Supernovas, yet to be revealed crew and the world in general.)**

 **I've rambled on long enough.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Peace!**


	13. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 13)

**Chapter 13 - Time on the Sea**

* * *

The newly deemed ship, Day Strider, glided across the surface of the sea, bouncing against the small rogue waves that crossed its path. The pirates and its comrades aboard had just finished their adventure on Tear island and we all knew what happened there.

Their next destination was the famous Loguetown, the place where Gold Roger was executed and the final destination in the East Blue before one reached the entrance to the Grandline. Itzal, for one, was excited beyond reason at the thought of reaching the Grandline but he knew they had a few things to do before that point. A major issue that needed to be resolved was his first mates' injury, they needed a surgeon to stitch him up since the treatment he had thus far wasn't going to be enough. Another point they'd hopefully solve would be re-supplying since they were going to need food and such for their journey.

I had been only roughly twenty minutes since they'd left Tear island, at this moment each person present were doing their required role if they had one.

Arabella stood by the helm, a small smile on her face as she guided the ship through the waters. It hadn't been long since they'd left but the seas seemed calm and the weather remained pleasant, it wouldn't be difficult for her to get this ship to Loguetown with a sea like this as her only obstacle.

Zarina leaned against the railing atop the stairs looking out over the sea and the others around her go about the ship. The little monkey, Sherlock, sat nearby tapping away at the wooden railing, for some reason he found this rather amusing.

Itzal and Francis were the ones that had to quickly tend to the sails and rigging to make sure everything was in the right condition. Well mostly Francis since Itzal was still learning the ins and outs of the ship and how it worked but to give him credit he was a fast learner, picking up on what Francis was doing and figuring it out for himself. Francis, on the other hand, had plenty of experience working on ships, as a marine, you learn this kind of thing since one could be at sea for long periods of time.

Rob would have joined in, and attempted to, but was shut down by Zarina telling him he didn't need to exert himself unless he wanted to re-open his wounds. He'd try to ignore the advice but was met with an angry Zarina, while that might not be an obstacle for Rob he figured it wasn't a good idea to cross her this time so he relented on helping the others physically. That didn't stop him from giving Itzal a hand on what to do if he needed it.

Once Itzal and Francis had finished checking over the ship they turned back to everyone else. Itzal couldn't help but smile seeing all of these people with him, this was exactly what he loved. An adventure with people like this, you couldn't beat it. Although only one of them was officially apart of the crew he enjoyed his time with the others, they made his adventure more fun having them with him.

"How's the wound, Rob?" Francis asked wandering over to the person in question. He knew he'd probably say he was fine or something but Francis was good at learning about secrets if Rob was hiding the fact he was in pain or something he'd learn of it.

"Still a wound." Was the redheads' smartass reply, that barely counted as an answer to the question but from his expression and the fact he was joking one could tell he was fine or as fine as one could be in his condition.

"You're going to have to explain to us how you got that wound some time," Francis stated leaning up on the railing, his back resting on the rigging that leads to the crows' nest. He wouldn't push it for now but he'd like to know at some point, what kind of monster did he face down?

"We'll see." Was all the wounded redhead said. Although he had his reasons not to speak of what happened he knew they'd discover what happened sooner or later.

Itzal smiled at his two male comrades before glancing to his two female friends, he noticed Arabella's expression as she looked between everyone else. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Zarina take note of Arabella as well.

At that moment she spoke up, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she did. "It's been fun messing about with y'all but I think it's time for a more formal introduction right?" Swinging her hand from each member of the crew, "I like to know more about people I fight alongside. Besides, we'll be traveling together for a couple of days after all."

The ax wielder was right, it was a good thing to know those around you. Everyone came to the same agreement but it was Itzal who began first as he moved to stand in the center of the deck, his hands resting on his hips.

"Alright! I'll start." He began with a small smile, "I'm Bellow Itzal, captain of the sky pirates!" A rather simple opening from the young pirate but what else was he to share right away? But he figured he should be the one to lead the introductions.

"Rose Francis, ex-marine lieutenant, and navigator." Francis introduced himself, he kept it brief and to the point just like a marine. He might not be a marine officially anymore but his training and mannerisms were here to stay for the time being.

There was a momentary pause in introductions after Francis so Arabella decided she give it a go. While she already knew both of their names she at least learned she was right about Francis being a marine, his appearance suited the job. Itzal, on the other hand, was an open book from the beginning. Maybe she'd learn why these people were sailing together.

"Well, I'm Lovelace Arabella! Crazy ax-wielding maniac and professional helmswoman!" She stated, joking around with the sanity and a hint of, not so subtle, pride in the comment about being a helmswoman. She moved forward and slumped onto the helm her gaze turned to the last remaining members onboard as did Itzals' and Francis'.

However neither immediately responded with their own introductions, instead after a brief moment Zarina spoke. "I've heard your name before, I recognize it in a report I read." She stated, fixing her glasses, her inquisitive gaze resting on Arabella's form.

Rob too seemed to be in thought but he listened in on what Zarina had to say, maybe what she knew would help him remember what he needed to.

Arabella just smiled casually, "Ah, so you've heard of me then! I must have a fantastic reputation!" She replied happily. "Where did you hear about me?" She asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat. This was fun!

Judging from Itzal and Francis' expression neither seemed to understand where Zarina was coming from. Understandably so for Itzal given his past and where's been for most of his life but Francis didn't know either and he was a marine. What kind of reputation did this red-headed helmswoman have exactly?

Despite that, there was one other who was in the same boat as Zarina, Rob. His gut was telling him this woman was strong, someone like that doesn't just fly under the radar. Although Rob had literally only met her on his bloody path back to the town to get patched up as best he could. He only learned of her name moments ago after all.

"It's not that big a reputation," Said Zarina, she didn't mean for that to sound condescending but it sorta came across that way, "I recall seeing your name when I worked for the World Government and the marines. I believe I saw it on a photo that was used to create bounties, it would be safe to assume you have one." This surprised Itzal and Francis, both of them turned to the redhead in question who was just smiling happily away to herself. Itzal and Francis knew she was strong but they didn't expect her to have a record of her own, they just thought she was a kickass mercenary or something.

"Guess I've been found out~" Arabella replied playfully, she didn't seem too bothered about her bounty being discovered but why would she? Not like it was going to be claimed any time soon, not if she was still kicking.

"So that's where I recognized your name from!" A voice spoke up causing everyone to turn to the source of the noise. It was Rob, leaning against one of the railings off on his own, a smirk on his face.

He turned to look directly at the helmswoman, "I saw your bounty before a while back." He smirked, "As a bounty hunter I had considered taking it but I decided against it." His words caused Zarina to shift, why would he say that? "I had other plans but I recall the bounty being pretty worthwhile." A mischievous smirk on his face.

' _Did that idiot have to tell the individual with a bounty that he was a bounty hunter?!_ ' Zarina thought to herself, if he was trying to create tension it worked. They didn't need the air thick between a criminal and a former bounty hunter.

Francis saw Zarinas' reaction, he figured she was thinking that was a stupid move on Robs' part. To be fair it was accurate to his character to say something like that without giving two fucks about the consequences but that could have caused some unwanted trouble.

Now it's not like Zarina or Francis didn't trust Arabella, they'd seen what she was capable of but both of their intuitions told them she wasn't going to attack them but if Rob was egging on the idea of a fight they weren't exactly going to enjoy the experience.

Itzal on the other hand just looked between the two of them, he didn't see anything wrong with it. Rob was just being honest after all.

Arabella looked at the wounded redhead, noting their similar hair color, she didn't change her expression to anything of concern. "So why didn't you attempt it?" She questioned instead, she knew what her bounty was worth so why not _**attempt**_ to take it? Her playful smile remained on her face, "Didn't think you could handle it tough guy~?"

Rob only laughed at her jabs, his laughter eased off the small tension Zarina and Francis thought was building between the two. Itzal just smiled watching his two friends having fun.

"I had other things in the works at the time," He countered through his laugh, "Although, a forty-five million beri bounty is tempting. But that's to be expected of the **Armadas Bane** right?" His smirk only grew once he saw the reaction from Zarina and Francis, a look of surprise on their faces to hear that epithet, although Zarina hid her reaction well.

"The Armadas Bane, now even I heard of that name." Francis admitted to the group, "I heard marines make mention of them before but I never heard your actual name linked to that epithet." He explained, the marines were on the lookout for this one in recent years, a hefty enough bounty.

"I didn't know you had a bounty," Itzal added to the conversation as Sherlock ran across the deck from his position beside Zarina, "With a name like that I'm going to guess you've attacked ships before?" He didn't really need to ask, he kind of knew the answer was a yes. His assumption was confirmed by a swift nodded on her head in his direction. All eyes were basically on her at the moment. You had to cut Itzal some slack, he wasn't informed about the reputations and events that happened across the East Blue, it wasn't too long ago he was isolated away from the rest of the world.

"I recall reading incident reports about an Armada of private soldiers being attacked by an individual they had apparently _irritated_." Zarina stated, gaining the attention of the others, "Attacking private armies and kingdoms not associated with the World Government doesn't warrant a marine sanctioned bounty, it's usually a coast guard issues bounty first so you must have become a threat in the eyes of the World Government to earn a marine bounty, you did mention before you'd smuggled goods, perhaps that is why?" Zarina concluded, her reasoning and logic being spot on too.

"Spot on little lady! I'm a troublemaker but I'm not going to kiss and tell of all my escapades." Arabella replied, giving her a cheeky wink, continuing to play with them throughout this conversation. "Putting two and two together through my epithet and those reports you figured out it was me with logic and reasoning, well done!"

Zarina justed hummed to herself, it honestly wasn't that hard. But Itzal was impressed by how she remembered enough information on reports from possibly a long time ago and yet still put it all together. Francis wasn't honestly sure what to think, mere days ago he would have been told by his superiors that Arabella would be his enemy, a target to track and capture, yet having fought alongside her his view of the marines had changed. Arabella had done nothing wrong, in fact, she'd wanted to go after the slavers on the island. Although he didn't have the full details of her crimes she honestly didn't seem like a bad person.

"Maybe I should have gone after that bounty then." Rob spoke up again, "Jumping at an Armada or two huh? Sounds like it would have been one hell of a fight!" His statement giving off mixed tones but he clearly didn't mean anything by it. However, he paused in thought when he mentioned the bounty again. He felt as though he was forgetting something.

"Yeah! Arabella smacked those slavers around with no issue, she's a strong one! That would be an intense fight!" Itzal agreed with his first mate, he was kinda getting hyped from the thought of a tough battle. Itzal was always game for a fight but he hadn't really faced a real challenge yet apart from that one marine he faced down during that prison convey adventure he and Rob had.

"Ah boys, you're flattering me~!" Arabella continued to play, "I'm sure you're both tough as well." A hint of sass in her tone but one could tell it was all in good jest. "That thing is more of a burden at times however it's fun to know people are after you." Zarina and Francis sweatdropped at hearing that. "But back to the introductions shall we?" She asked at the end, not taking either hand off the helm she gestured over to Zarina with her elbow. She was cutting their fight talk off and completely shifting away from the fact she had a bounty like it was no big deal but to be fair to her it wasn't. "How about you begin before we get to the ex-bounty hunter."

Zarina fixed her seating position to make it more comfortable again before beginning, "Arkenstone Erie Zarina." Her introduction brief and gave nothing else, she knew damn well that was not a sufficient introduction though.

Francis sweatdropped at her introduction, which didn't give her anything.

Itzal didn't react at all, to be honest, he wasn't sure if she should share more or not. What should she share with them exactly?

"Come on sweetie~!" Arabella proded, "Share more than that! You lot learned a bit about me so why not share with the rest of the class?"

Zarina didn't immediately respond, taking a moment to think to herself. "So be it," She began softly, "I used to be a government worker. Specifically in a government library of sorts." She turned her gaze toward Itzal and Rob, "If you were wondering why I was a prisoner being transferred it's simply for the fact I learned secrets the World Government would rather people not know."

The group fell silent, particularly Francis of all people. It was Arabella that burst to life first, "Would ya look at that! Of everyone here, it's the two ladies that caused trouble for the World Government!" She joked, finding it amusing for reasons only known to her but she quickly moved back on track. "So tell us, what kinda secrets we talking about?"

Government secrets would be an interesting topic of discussion, everyone here would be intrigued to hear what Zarina learned that warranted her getting arrested and sent to prison almost immediately too. However, it was Francis that was the most intrigued but that was to be expected. Secrets, mysteries and forgotten information was his passion, that was what he chased. Even the ambition he told Itzal about revolved around secrets and long-forgotten history, so if Zarina had secrets to share he'd want them.

"That's a topic for another time." She countered, shooting down the idea almost immediately, much to the disappointment of Francis most of all. Rob didn't seem all that bother but Itzal and Arabella just accepted her choice. "One day we'll sit down and I'll tell you the secrets I've learned but today is not that day."

Of all the people here Rob found it rather funny to hear that from Zarina, not only did this make Zarina seem more mysterious but she also mentioned she'd tell them about it one day. Indicating that even though she planned to leave and find a place to hide she accepted the idea that she'd meet with them again. Either that or she accidentally gave up a secret right there. Rob didn't call her out on it but he glanced between the others and noticed they'd heard what Zarina said. A smile spread across Itzals' face after hearing that.

"I'll look forward to that day," Itzal said in response.

"As do I," Zarina replied, a brief smile passed over her face before returning to her more neutral tone. Nobody noticed the faint smile but nobody needed to, it was for herself.

"Would ya look at this! We're being so nice and friendly for a batch of misfits!" Arabella chimed in, "Now then! Onto the final pieces of the introduction, Mr. Injured!" She gestured toward the ex-bounty hunter for him to add to the conversation.

Rob looked between each person here before he shrugged, "Alright, Jackdaw Rob, ex-bounty hunter known as the Headhunter now first mate and vice-captain to the sky pirates," He paused for a split second, "also currently wounded." Adding in a smartass comment at the end.

Everyone except Itzal was surprised at hearing the name Headhunter, mainly because Itzal had already known of that nickname before when Rob told him about but also because he didn't understand the big-ish deal behind it.

"You?" Zarina began, narrowing her eyes at Rob, "Are the Headhunter from the North Blue?"

Francis didn't say anything, he'd heard of the reputation he had as a bounty hunter. He was one of the best you could get to hunt down a bounty.

"Ay, it's me," Rob replied rather nonchalantly, he'd heard it all before and to be honest the name wasn't exactly the best.

"Maybe that fight would have been very intense after all," Arabella spoke, mentioning the fight they discussed earlier. "You have quite the reputation if you didn't know. Even the people I worked with warned everyone to avoid the notorious bounty hunter known as the Headhunter." To Arabella that was a compliment because the people shes worked with before wouldn't normally be worried about a bounty hunter yet for him, they told them to actively avoid him.

The red-headed bounty hunter smirked, "Good to know that name gets around." Although he wasn't looking forward to anyone calling him out as to why he got that epithet in the first place. "How is my reputation?"

This time it was Francis that spoke up, "Depends on who you're asking for one. If you ask a marine they'd probably say he's something about him fighting for justice. If you were to ask a criminal they'd probably tell you to sleep with one eye open."

"I didn't know you had such a scary reputation before we met," Itzals said to his first mate before smirking at him, "Guess that means I got myself a worthy vice-captain!"

At hearing this Zarina eye-rolled, even if she saw it coming, of course, Itzal would see it as a positive thing.

"Yeah well, what can I say, I get around." Rob still trying to brush off the talk of his time as a bounty hunter. This was all old news to him, been there heard that sort of thing.

"Getting around is right," Zarina spoke not looking Robs' way, "The Headhunters reputation started in the North Blue and ended up in the East, how did you make that journey? It's difficult for people to cross the Blue Seas." Which was entirely true, it wasn't easy. Hell, to cross from the North to the East you had to go over the Redline and that was a mission in of itself.

"I had help with that," Rob said rather vaguely, barely even answering the question with his choice of words. Leaning back as he answered, there was something odd about how he didn't explain that more thoroughly but it was left at that.

"I figured," Zarina muttered to herself still not having made direct eye contact with Rob yet. Itzal, Francis and even Arabella didn't ask for more of an explanation, sure they might have been a bit curious, especially Francis, but that was something you could overlook when they're talking about his reputation as a bounty hunter.

"So you started off in the North Blue? You were born there yeah?" Arabella questioned, it was a reasonable assumption. She, herself, was born on the Paradise side of the Grandline.

"Born and raised there, mostly." Again his words were a bit off to a few of them, Itzal was the only one not really bothered by Robs' lack of explanation to things. Besides, Rob already explained a bit about himself when it was just the two of them.

"Still, to have a reputation that spreads across from the North to the East is impressive," Francis admitted looking toward the redhead he was referring to. "It's said you were the best bounty hunter there was in the North Blue so that's something to be proud of."

Rob just shrugged, "I wasn't in it for the reputation. I needed money and bounties were available so I thought, fuck it, let's go hunting. It was a living, not a hobby."

Out of the blue came the giggle of the helmswoman causing everyone to glance her way. "This is the most miss-match set of people I've seen in years! We've got a pirate that looks like a monk, an ex-bounty hunter, an ex-marine, an ex-government worker and me, a wanted criminal! You can't make this stuff up!"

Of all things she found amusing it was the group itself, look between each other they had to agree she was right. They were an odd sight to see.

"Glad we got the introductions outta the way-" Arabella began but was interrupted by a low whining noise. Of course, this was the little monkey that had shimmed up Itzals arm. "Of course! The monkeys' introduction!" She said rapidly.

Zarina just sighed, was it really that big a deal to introduce the monkey too?

"This little guys' name is Sherlock." Itzal told Arabella, "You were there when we named him but he's only been with us awhile." He began to play with him, letting him jump from arm to arm, crawl over his body, over his shoulders and just generally monkeying about.

"He was picked up on the last island we were at, a marine base to be precise, for whatever reason he decided to follow Itzal around," Francis clarified, crossing his arms as he looked at the little monkey hopping on Itzals shoulder. "I have no idea what Itzal did to warrant a monkey companion but he has one now."

"He's perfectly fine among us crazies!" Arabella exclaimed, giggling at the image she had in her head of the crew and this little monkey.

' _That's actually painfully accurate…_ ' Zarina thought to herself, she sighed. ' _Of course, I board the strangest ship on the seas._ '

Everyone seemed about finished with their introductions, perhaps people were ready to talk about something else but for some reason, Rob felt as though he was forgetting something.

"That was it!" Rob half-shouted, breaking the silence that descended onto the group for a few seconds. "Itzal! You have to take a look at what I found!" He rummaged through his trousers many pockets until he found what he was looking for.

The red-haired first mate pulled out two pieces of paper from his pocket and waved at the rest of the group, the whole time he had a smirk on his face.

He held up the two pieces of paper for the others to see but once they'd seen what it was each of them reacted in their own way.

The pages revealed two new bounties.

 **Wanted: Bellow** _ **'Ironclad'**_ **Itzal - 72,000,000 Beri. Dead or Alive.**

 **Wanted: Jackdaw** _ **'HeadHunter'**_ **Rob - 50,000,000 Beri. Dead or Alive.**

Two new bounties that belonged to two of the people present, the captain and first mate to the newly formed sky pirates! Two of the biggest troublemakers you'll ever meet.

Zarina just looked on in an internal panic, ' _How many wanted individuals am I traveling with?!_ ' On the outside, she seemed to be taking the reveal well but her thoughts began to think of possible problems this might cause. ' _If I'm seen by marine officials, bounty hunters or other criminal organizations I could be dragged into a whole mess. They'd use me to get to these two since I'm the weakest physical link._ ' Her thoughts did nothing to help her with the current situation but she took a deep breath and sighed in an attempt to calm herself. Panicking over this wouldn't help.

Arabella just pouted, "I've been wanted for so long and I've only got a forty-five million beri bounty. Here these two rookies come along and they get higher bounties than I do within days of breaking the law! This is so unfair!" Arabella exclaimed to the group, exaggerating her movements by throwing her arms in the arm before returning to slumping over the wheel.

Rob just laughed, "What can I say, we started off big right Itzal?" He was rather proud of his first bounty, not a bad start at all!

"I didn't think it was that big a deal." Itzal countered rather bluntly, he titled his head at his first mate, "What are we wanted for according to the bounty?" He asked his comrade. You could see Itzal didn't seem all that bothered by the bounty, sure it was cool but at the end of the day, it was basically a target being painted on his back. Although he figured he'd get some strong opponents to fight out of it so that was a plus in Itzals' book.

Rob read over both bounties seeing they were both similar to one another, "Attacking a marine prison convoy, jailbreaking prisoners, attacking a marine base and stealing a ship that belonged to the navy."

Itzal furrowed his brow, "That doesn't seem like something worth a seventy-two million beri bounty." His countered his friend, to be fair he wasn't sure how the marines worked out bounties but surely that was a bit much.

Before Rob could respond it was Francis that answered, "It depends on a number factors," He began to explain, "A bounty total can be divided into three categories, strength, threat and the crime itself." Francis paused for a second, "A very basic way to divide it but accurate. The marines analyze a person's strength to see if they're a physical threat, then they examine the threat level of the person in question against the World Government, the bigger the problem for the World Government the bigger the bounty can get. Finally, it's the crimes themselves, if you start murdering civilians you'll get a high enough bounty quick enough."

Itzal paused to think of that for a moment, "So maybe it's because we directly invaded a marine controlled island and attacked a prison convoy? It's going against the marines outright?" It was a good assumption.

"I reckon it's from our fights with the marines too. We did go toe to toe with those guys leading the prison convoy." Rob added to the conversation.

Off to the side Arabella had gotten over the bounty thing and was silently listening to the conversation. Man, did these guys have a kick-ass start to their criminal lives.

"Rob," Francis began with a curious tone, "Were they the only bounties you found of this group?"

"Yeah, there was a stack of them to be handed out and distributed to other islands," Rob told the navigator, glancing back to the bounties in his hand.

Zarina sighed at hearing that, at least that meant she didn't have a bounty of her own to worry about. That was positive.

"So we were lucky," Francis muttered getting a look from the others, he looked over to Zarina of all people. "We weren't given a bounty for our involvement in the escape from my former headquarters, nor for the fact, you're an escaped prisoner and I think I know why." Francis paused as he let the group process his words.

"I suppose that is odd for a prisoner not to receive a bounty to re-capture me, although I'm grateful I'm curious as to why I'm not being hunted," Zarina responded, her hand made it to her rapier as she began to brush her thumb against it.

"I have a feeling it was Commander Fox, from what I knew of the man he wasn't one to ruins a person's life by having them hunted until their dying days. He was a believer of second chances, giving people a chance to rebuild their lives." Francis told the group, "He was one of the few marines I truly respected, not a commanding officer but as a person. He was an honorable man."

Itzal smiled once he heard Francis speak of the man in such a way. He'd fought him during their time on that island and Itzal had to admit, he was a fun opponent to fight against.

"Well I certainly owe him a thank you, having a bounty would be very problematic," Zarina stated, she was lucky not to have a bounty. She was pretty sure she'd still be hunted by marines if they ever found her again but as long as there wasn't a price on her head she wouldn't face bounty hunters and become a publically wanted figure.

"But why does Itzal have a higher bounty than Mr. Wounded?" Arabella questioned, "If they've both done the same things then why would they prioritize Itzal over the redhead?"

"I have a theory, perhaps it was due to their connection." Francis hypothesized, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "If they found out Itzal was his captain than they'd prioritize Itzal over his first mate."

"Makes sense," Arabella responded to his theory.

A silence spread across the group, not entirely sure how to continue the conversation. Itzal had walked over to Rob and took his own bounty, he observed the picture. He noticed the picture seemed to have been taken during their time at the marine base, someone must have caught him during the battle because in the photo he was in the middle of manipulating molten iron. Hence where they probably got the epithet from.

Rob, on the other hand, was different, they'd gotten a picture when he was more relaxed in his stance but he had a smirk on his face. It actually made him look rather sinister, not that the redhead was complaining.

Arabella didn't seem all that bothered by hearing these two had bounties, she'd met plenty of criminals before so this wasn't anything new although she was impressed by the price. She'd never personally met anyone with a higher bounty than theirs, there was a tinge of respect from her for that.

Zarina and Francis were the ones giving this the most thought despite the fact it wasn't either of them that got bounties.

To Francis he was still curious as to why these two got bounties, one thing he didn't mention to them was how odd it was for them to get bounties so quickly. It was unheard of to get a bounty this quickly and yet the both of them got one. From his time with them it didn't seem like they'd done another worthy of such a price on their heads, he came to the conclusion that there was something more going on with the whole prison convoy story they'd been on before they had met him.

To Zarina, she was more concerned about how this affected her, traveling with wanted individuals could prove disastrous. She could be killed or used as leverage against them. However she was also concerned about them as well when it came to the next island Francis and herself planned to leave, she wasn't sure about Arabella but if she left once they got into the Grandline they could be in serious trouble. Who knows what kind of people would come after them, it would only be the two of them and they'd be worth over one hundred million beri. That was something people wouldn't ignore.

Everyone was in their own thoughts about learning of theses bounties and how to deal with them.

However, that didn't last long thanks to a red-haired helmswoman.

"Now that we're officially done with all that business, how about we have someone prepare food for dinner!" Arabella proposed, completely moving on from all other topics of discussion, she turned to Itzal. "You're the captain of this ship, your call."

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Itzal replied turning to Francis, "How long until we reach Loguetown?" He asked, completely jumping from their previous topic.

"Estimated time is around three days including this one," He glanced back to the compass he was holding, "If the weather remains calm we'll make it on time." Francis fixed his posture and ended up standing like a marine awaiting orders. His marine training kicking in again. He too ignored the sudden change in topic however he was still thinking about it, just not saying anything about it.

Zarina pinched the bridge of her nose, ' _These people just brush off serious matters like they're nothing._ ' These people were unbelievable at times, ' _They literally create stress as we go._ ' A rational mind would go insane being with this lot, she felt like she was already.

"Right! So we'll divide up who cooks, I'll take today." Itzal told the rest of the members aboard. "Who wants to take tomorrow?"

"I will." Said Rob raising his hand however that was quickly shut down.

"Not a chance."

"You're not doing anything."

Zarina and Francis replied respectfully, of the two it was Zarina that continued. "You can go rest someone, we're not going to have you do anything while you have a poorly patched wound to recover from." She explained, her tone rather defiant showing she wasn't going to take no as an answer. Francis was of the same mindset, no way would you let the injured work.

Robs reaction was to just groan, "I'll be bored to death." He muttered to himself. Itzal didn't see a problem with him cooking, it wasn't at all strenuous in any way really but no point starting an argument over who gets to cook.

' _Although, I really need to watch out for a good cook to have aboard. That's an important position to have!_ Itzal thought to himself before being brought out of his thoughts by Zarina.

"I'll worry about tomorrow's food, leave those two," She gestured to Francis and Arabella, "To get the ship where it needs to be."

"Oh-oh! I want to handle the cooking on the third day!" Arabella offered, "I'm sure Itzal can handle the helm while I cook for a bit. If anything were to happen I'd jump back to the wheel."

While Francis and Zarina weren't so sure Itzal swiftly pushed those worries off to the side.

"It's a plan. I'll go look inside the ship for supplies to see what I can make for later." Itzal began to walk toward the ship's cabin, Sherlock jumping off his shoulder over to the rigging of the ship, but he was stopped by Rob.

"There's plenty of supplies, enough for three days and then some. Picked up supplies back on Tear island." Rob casually told Itzal, he got up from his sitting position on the railing and walked closer to Francis ad Itzal.

"So that's where you disappeared to by yourself when we got there?" Francis asked, he seemed to be the best guess considering he was gone for so long on his own. The rest of them stuck together for their duration on Tear island but Rob had been missing for a lot of the action. Well their action, he clearly had plenty of his own after all.

A slight nod in his direction confirmed that assumption.

"Good thinking! I'll go check all the supplies you got and I'll gather what I'll need to cook dinner." Itzal nodded at his first mate for the thinking of that, thankful to actually have supplies for their journey. "Mind helping me go through everything?"

Before Rob could even respond he was cut off.

"I'll help you out Itzal," Francis responded taking Rob's place, walking over to Itzal and putting a hand on his shoulder for a second.

"I shall as well." Zarina offered. Although she had her own reasons for looking through the supplies, mainly to see if there was anything she'd like personally. If she could have something nice it would be a fine way to end off the day, a rather stressful day after everything that has happened. She needed time to recharge at some point.

"Thanks!" Itzal and Francis took off to the cabin and swiftly disappeared from view to head to the storage hold deeper inside the ship.

The others watched them leave but Rob felt as though someone was looking at him, he glanced over to see Zarina was glaring at him with an analytical gaze.

Rob raised an eyebrow at her wondering what she was doing. She noticed the raised brow and chose to spoke, "How did you get those supplies when none of us have any money or treasure to trade with." Over by the helm, Arabella was listening in on their conversation, however private it might be she was listening in regardless.

Rob grinned at her, caught red-handed.

"I have my ways." That was such a shitty response, clearly not satisfying Zarina with that answer.

"You weren't going to pay for anything were you?" Zarina asked but her tone showing she knew damn well she was right.

"I'm innocent of all charges." His response got a subtle giggle from Arabella.

Zarina just rolled her eyes at his response, "Luckily I'm the only one to question you on it." She mumbled between the two of them before she turned away to go help Itzal and Francis. She couldn't really say anything and she doubted he'd try to explain himself out of the situation. "You've adapted to being a pirate rather quickly." She added before finally walking away and disappearing from view as the others did.

This only left Rob and Arabella left on deck. Not having anything to do he made his way up the stairs and sat on the railing not far from Arabella.

The first thing he noticed was her huge grin directed at him.

"Yeah yeah," Rob spoke out knowing full well she heard their conversation in full.

Her smile only grew wider, "You two remind me of two siblings."

Rob tilted his head in thought for a second before coming to the same conclusion as her. It was strangely accurate, wasn't it?

* * *

The next two days went by rather quickly with everyone aboard getting used to being on this ship. From dividing up the sleeping quarters, making it so there's a guys room and a ladies room to fixing up the dining area to fit the five of them and their monkey companion. The ship itself was actually great, Arabella specifically mentioned its quality and style. A ship that earned her admiration was rare but this ship had yet to be truly tested yet. The Grandline was the true test for the ship, if it can survive in there it truly was a great ship.

Each member of the group went about trying to make a routine for themselves. Arabellas' was the most simple as she just did her duty of a helmswoman and took the helm.

Francis was similar, he spent his time going over several maps and charts, checking the weather and making sure the ship remained on the right course. He even organized a small room to store some navigation equipment and used a barrel to store the maps they had.

Itzal spent his time getting to know the ship inside and out, from top to bottom and back to front. This was _his_ ship after all so he wanted to know as much as could about it, how it worked and take note of a few things.

Rob was told, multiple times, not to strain his injury until he got it stitched and looked at by a professional doctor. Despite him still disregarding them on multiple occasions he, luckily, didn't reopen the wound on his body. He mainly spent his time attempting to train or swim but was stopped once someone except Itzal noticed him.

Finally, Zarina. She spent her time fixing what she was capable of. Mainly re-arranging things off the floor so people could walk around and helping others where she could. But she also spent some time to herself, fixing her _bed_ and just thinking about her plans for the future.

The first day on the sea Itzal prepared what he was used to, a vegetable soup. Right after Zarina demanded he washed his hands after playing with Sherlock. While Itzal wasn't at all a cook, probably not being able to cook anything else besides soup, his creation was decently edible. Nobody got sick so that was a plus! To be honest, of everyone here Zarina and Francis came to the conclusion that either Itzal or Rob would be the worst cook here since Itzal got an edible score they were leaning to Rob being a bad cook. Although Itzal was caught more than once snacking on from fresh fruit and veg instead of actually cooking. His defense being he loved tasty, fresh food.

The next day was Zarinas' turn, which she took surprisingly serious for some reason, not wanting to be outdone by anyone else here. The others found it odd for her to be somewhat competitive but they left her to it. She knew herself she was no professional cook but she was taught to cook for herself when she was younger. She would not let those lessons go to waste. She prepared various meats and veg, ending up creating a small unique dish for each person. Francis, Arabella, and Itzal got a mix of veg and meats, both fish and chicken. However Rob got purely a meat dish, her reasoning for this was simple. A heavy protein diet help with the healing process so she'd given him a protein meal of meat to help him along with his healing wound. That was extremely clever, everyone had to admit they didn't think that far ahead or put that much thought into food before but that sounded like something Zarina would do.

On the third day, it finally fell to Arabella, and this is what happened.

Itzal was the first to the dining table, a trait the group had learned over the last few days was Itzals large appetite. They'd found out that he not only had a large appetite but was always looking for the best tasting food, Zarinas food might not have been professional but it was tastier than a lot of the food he'd had before so he was excited to see what else people came up with!

Rob and Zarina took their seats at the same time beside each other. The table they sat at was big enough for eight people, Itzal sat at one end of the captain while Zarina and Rob sat to his right beside each other. Sherlock sat just beyond Zarina near the opposite end of the table of Itzal munching away at some peanuts he'd been given by Zarina. It became clear that of everyone on the crew Sherlock liked, he liked Itzal and Zarina the most.

The kitchen itself was rather simple in design but that's all they needed it from it. If they had an actual cook aboard they'd probably ask for better equipment or something like that. However, there were some nice decorations such as a plant next to where Rob sat and a nice pale yellow paint job around the dining area.

Francis was the last to join them, he'd took some final checks to make sure the ship was still on course. He'd noticed they'd made better time than expected but he'd chalk that up to Arabella's skill as a helmswoman, she handled the ship like a master, riding the waves in such an efficient manner they made time. He swiftly joined the others, choosing to sit beside Itzal on his left side.

While Itzal was excited by seeing what food he could eat everybody noticed a rather rancid smell coming from the cooking area. Everyone except Zarina turned to watch Arabella from across the room, what they saw didn't exactly instill confidence in them. A small plume of thick black smoke erupted from in front of Arabella. A smell of burnt food, both meat, and veg, filled the room. A large mess of food lay across the floor by her feet, it really was a bad sight to see. Made even weirder by the fact she still wore all her axes, both the massive one on her back and her throwing axes on her hip.

However, the food was _done_ according to Arabella who began to bring plates of food over to the group. What she lay before them was a horrendous mess.

Each of the plates was piled up with different things, some of which they couldn't make out what it had been before. It was like a black sludge-like substance with a side order of charred, ash-like veg or whatever the fuck it was. At this point, if you could actually tell what the food had been beforehand you must have achieved a new higher form of color of observation haki.

They side glanced at Arabella who had some soot marks on her face and a satisfied smile on her face. She'd taken a seat near Francis with her very own plate of the same mess she'd given the others and began to dig in.

Francis had to stop his jaw from dropping at the fact she'd dare each such a thing.

She turned to the others, "Well? Eat it already!" She said as she took another bite herself, focusing again on her own meal.

Francis and Zarina sweatdropped at seeing the helmswoman eating at this toxic mess with no issue. Of course, the creator of such poison can handle it.

Of the others to try the food it was Itzal that braved this dangerous path first, taking a bite you could see him physically recoil from eating it. That didn't instill confidence in the others but regardless he continued to eat the food, whether out of courtesy or simply doing it because he was taught to nobody could tell. He gagged, choked and recoiled slightly from each bite.

There was a pause from Francis and Zarina, a hesitant to dare try it. The fact Itzal could swallow it was a miracle in of itself but Itzal was Itzal. He wasn't exactly normal, just because he ate it and lived doesn't mean they would.

Out the corner of Zarinas' eye she saw Rob poke the black sludge with his fork and to her disgust, it looked like the food twitched as Rob jabbed it a few times.

However, Francis and Zarina decided to just go for it, against both of their better judgments. At the same time, they both took their first bites of this toxic sludge and almost immediately regretted it.

Zarina instinctively coughed as she ate the first bite, choking on the taste of it alone. Never had she had something so bad in all her life, it hit her stomach harder than a rock. Her body immediately told her to throw it up, expel it from her body but she couldn't. One bite had been enough for her.

"That is the worst thing I have ever tasted!" She declared loudly, making damn sure Arabella heard it. She didn't care if it was rude it was for that sure the hard truth and she was making sure it was heard.

Arabella reacted in a slightly hurt manner as if she'd directly struck something of great importance to her. It was actually her pride. "Like hell! My cooking is great! Easily the best here!" She defended, however, the opposition was mounting.

"It's horrible," Itzal stated in agreement with Zarina, looking directly toward Arabella. His words said it was horrible yet he'd still managed to eat ninety percent of his portion but even he had his limits as to what poisons he could handle and he had reached that limit.

Francis did better than she had however, managing to get a number of bites out of it before it was too much for him. He suddenly shot, pushing his food away from him and ran from the room, it didn't take a genius to figure out where was going. The poor guys' guts might never recover from such a devastating attack.

That made it three against one, majority rules and the conclusion was clear. Arabella cooks and creates poisons, a toxic mass, a form of torture.

Arabella pouted in both an annoyed and hurt manner, "Fuck you guys! My cooking is great, you just can't handle it!" She huffed slightly at the end of her statement.

Itzal seeing the situation decided to end it, "Alright! I'll clean up." Itzal stated in an attempt to calm things down. "Arabella, can you go check on Francis?" He asked hoping she'd go help the navigator.

"Fiiinnnnneee," Arabella whined through a pout, she got up and took off out of the kitchen in search of Francis leaving the others to clean up after her.

Zarina struggled to keep her composure but she managed in the end. Itzal just scratched his head, man that had been both the strangest and worst dinner he'd ever had. He turned to see the rest of the kitchen in a mess, he glanced to Zarina and saw she was seemingly okay, Rob too for that matter, oddly enough.

"Mind helping me with this?" He asked the two of them hoping he wouldn't be alone in cleaning this up.

Zarina just gave him a nod, saving her strength as much as possible.

"Sure thing." Rob replied nonchalantly, giving his captain a small wave of the hand.

He gave a small smile at the two of them grateful for the help, "I'll handle the kitchen, you two handle here and all the dishes." He told the two of them as he moved off to begin cleaning the kitchen, right where Arabella had created her poison leaving Rob and Zarina sitting for a moment.

Zarina paused for a moment letting some of the pain and groaning in her stomach subside but that's when she noticed something. One thing she was always grateful for was silence, a peaceful atmosphere but there was one problem with that. Rob was here and if Rob was here silence is not peaceful, it's suspicious.

She looked over to the redhead with an analyzing gaze, that's when she noticed his empty plate. "I refuse to believe you could stomach that better than Itzal." She stated, seeing as he was perfectly fine.

Rob just smirked at her and shrugged, not saying anything.

That set off warning sirens. If Rob was smug about something there was bound to be something up.

She glanced around him in an attempt to find what that was and at that moment she found it, she reacted by immediately glaring at him.

Off to his side opposite Zarina, there had been a plant but now all that stood there was a withered and decayed stem of a plant. She knew exactly what he'd done with his food.

"You're a bastard." She said, rather envious of his actions. She wasn't mad at him so to speak more so herself for not doing the same thing.

"Thank you." Was all the redhead replied with before standing up and collecting some of the dishes so he could clean them.

That left Zarina to herself for a moment, she sighed before standing to begin her part in the cleaning process. This had been a disaster of a dinner.

Sherlock remained on the table, he titled his head in confusion and chirped to himself quietly. He had no idea what all the fuss was about but he was a monkey so he also didn't care. He turned back to his little bowl and munched on another peanut.

* * *

After everyone had recovered from that _experience_ people moved back to their routine, for the most part. It was nearing eight in the evening but another two hours of usable daylight remained according to Francis.

Arabella was still in a hump over the whole cooking fiasco, ' _My cooking is not that bad!_ ' She internally told herself, whether to defend her cooking or to actually try and convince herself she was a good cook. At least the best one here! She'd get over it eventually once they got to Loguetown but that was a shot at her pride. A low blow in her books!

Zarina was still recovering as she had decided to retreat to the women's quarters for a while to let her stomach settle. Despite the fact she only had a small piece she still didn't want to push her luck. Once she was sure she was not going to vomit she rejoined the others on deck, allowing the fresh air to help. She stood near Francis and Arabella watching as they worked in tandem to keep the ship going, they were a great team even though they hadn't worked together before. Any ship would be lucky to have such skilled crewmates on board.

Francis was the most unlucky, he felt the worst out of all of them. Sure he muscled through it and kept to his duty as a navigator but was it worth it if he was going to be sick again? Regardless he kept a strong face and took some medicine to help with his stomach. He kept going over weather conditions, maps and making sure they remained on course. Loguetown should be in view any minute now according to his calculations and readings. Sherlock sat on the railing next to him, tilting his head as he watched the navigator at work. For some reason, the monkey was amused watching Francis work, how odd right?

Itzal was okay after all that, turns out the guy has a stomach of iron. Lucky for him too because eating enough of Arabella's cooking could possibly be fatal judging by how Zarina and Francis reacted but Itzal was fine for the most part despite the fact he had eaten the most. Sure there was a slight groaning coming from his stomach but it didn't bother him nor did it hurt. Itzal only really thought the food was bad in taste, texture, and appearance but it was edible, somewhat, to him. Afterward, he just moved to the top of the cabin to lay down and relax for a bit. His thoughts going from everything that had happened on Tear island to what he'd find on Loguetown, his excitement was building again and he'd yet to reach the damn island.

Rob was perfectly fine as expected. Having avoided eating Arabella's food all together he snuck off and stole an apple from storage, something to eat while he waited for tomorrow's food. Currently, he was sitting near the bow of the ship but he sat looking toward the rest of the ship, watching the others as they went about the ship. This had been an interesting, fun and worthwhile trip, something he'd be looking forward to continuing on his adventure with Itzal, his captain.

"Land in sight!" Francis called out, using a spyglass that he'd taken as his own to look out over the sea ahead of them.

Everyone shifted hearing that news, all of them turning in the direction Francis was facing, each for their own reason but none more so than Itzal. Upon hearing Francis' call he shot up and leaped from the top of the cabin to the mast. He climbed that mast faster than any monkey ever could and landed on the railing of the crows' nest. He stood tall, high above the others allowing him to see that bit better across the sea.

And that's when he saw it, an island came into view.

Loguetown.

Itzal couldn't suppress the smile that spread across his face. It was time for an adventure in Loguetown!

* * *

 **Sorry, the chapter is a bit late (4 Days) but I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter. Nothing major but it slowed me down. I've also been getting busy as of late but I'll do what I can so I don't keep you all waiting for another chapter. On the plus side, it's nearly 10000 words so maybe the wait was worth it?**

 **At least Loguetown is here and with that, the final island of the East Blue begins. Not long now till the Grandline.**

 **I swear this story is going to have the same run time as the actual One Piece Manga at this rate, holy hell.**

 **I've talked enough shit for this Author's note, time to end it.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Peace!**


	14. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 14)

**Chapter 14 - Where it all begins**

* * *

The Day Strider had swiftly docked at Loguetown with no issue thanks to the efforts of both the dockworkers and the crew, excluding the redhead which Zarina told to sit off to the side. While reluctant he sat off on the railing waiting for the ship to come to a halt. They'd docked the ship in such a fashion that it would be easy for them to leave on short notice, it was Itzal who wanted it like that which caused his red-haired first mate to smirk, he was thinking more strategically for his ship. Rather captain like if you asked him.

Once that was done the crew all disembarked off the ship with Itzal leading them. The first thing he did was turn to the dock workers, "Thanks for helping us with our ship!" Itzal waved over to the dockworkers as he spoke. The other crew members all stood around him, each giving a small gesture their way.

The workers responded with either a nod or a small wave before turning to get back to work.

They'd made it to Loguetown! The place of beginnings and ends!

Just standing near the ship the crew witnessed the hustle and bustle of the town, people walking out and into the dock to either collect deliveries, pass out mail to postal ships or generally move supplies around. The town was so busy and focused yet the atmosphere gave off a friendly vibe, one that welcomed people to the island. Despite the fact that some of the group present, specifically Itzal, Rob and Arabella, were wanted criminals with rather high bounties. Whether the people didn't care or just didn't know it was nice to know people here weren't out to kill them. Yet.

Itzal turned back to the rest of the group, with Sherlock perched on his shoulder chirping slightly to himself, "We're finally here! We made it to Loguetown of all places!" Itzals excitement was blatantly evident for the others to see which got a smirk out of Rob and Francis seeing Itzal this way. Sure he was excited about the concept of an adventure but it was always a good thing to see him so positive.

"So!" Arabella began, throwing her arms up and behind her head, "What are we doing first? I assume you want to be here for a while since you're so excited." Arabella smiled at Itzal, one had to wonder how he was always so excited just at arriving at new places. She found Itzal to be an interesting character, the ax wielder had seen the young pirate in action and he was no joke yet he was plain and simply a nice hearted person. You don't meet too many kind-hearted pirates. Although she'd want to explore the town herself she decided to let Itzal do that while helped out Mr. Injured.

"I want to explore the town!" Itzal pumped his fist in excitement, "I bet there would be shops with all sorts of things like weapons, treasures, and books!" He smirked at the group as his thoughts went about attempting to make a plan for his adventure. Where and what he wanted to look for first.

"I'll probably check out what I can find for the ship that we might need." Rob explained to the group, "I'll see if there is anything worthwhile."

"No, you won't be!" Zarina spoke up in the group surprising the others by her tone, Zarina wasn't one to sound so assertive. She briefly pointed a finger at Rob, " _You're_ going to get stitched up before anything else!" She told the redhead, before placing one hand on her hip and the other on her sheathed rapier.

"I have to agree with Zarina on this, we were supposed to attempt to find a doctor or surgeon that could mend your wound in the first place. That should be your main priority." Francis joined in, agreeing with the scholar. "Maybe you should ask around town to find out if there is even a doctor available for you." Francis put a hand to his chin in thought, he was wondering should he help out with the search or just finally take off on his own. In the end, he'd probably help the red-haired pirate since they were so helpful to him in his escape from the marines.

The rest of the group all turned to the wounded redhead who just shrugged at them, "I guess I should. Even if I'm not bothered by it."

Itzal let out a small sigh, "Man, I was hoping to spend our time here exploring for awhile. It's a new island after all and it's Loguetown of all places!" The excitement he had earlier was briefly stunted but that didn't last long as Itzal bounced back. Sherlock seemed to mimic Itzal has he deflated and bounced up again just as Itzal did. Monkey see monkey do, I suppose?

This time it was Arabella that intervened, "If you'd like I can take Mr. Injured here," She gestured toward Rob with her elbow before going back to her normal stance, "and we can go find out about a doctor or surgeon." She smiled at the young monk pirate awaiting his response but she suspected he'd be happy to go explore.

"Thanks Arabella! That would be a great help!" Itzal swiftly responded to the female redhead of the group. This opened up his day to check out the town.

"You know, I could just go by myself." Rob attempted to counter but was shut down by Zarina once again.

"Not a chance, if you're left alone who knows what you'd do." Zarina gave him a small glare over the top of her glasses, "Last time you were left alone look what happened to you."

To be fair she had a point, he went about Tear island alone, ended up beating some slavers in a bar, basically burning down ships in the harbor and then came back a bloody mess. All that while he was left to his own devices, one could see why Zarina was accurate in her statement.

"I'm sure it'll be fine this time!" Rob smirked at her and threw a hand onto her shoulder and slightly leaned on her. "I fuck shit up where I go!"

Francis just deadpanned at the first mates' statement, was he attempting to convince them he'd be fine on his own or the opposite?

"You can do whatever you want after you're stitched up." Zarina countered in a more calm and fair tone, "I'm sure you can handle yourself in whatever you face but at least let yourself heal for your next misadventure." A far more fair response.

Rob smirked beneath his hat, the others not catching his smile as he stopped leaning on her. "Ay but that does sound boring." Rob countered as he took one step away from her.

"Rob, seriously, you need to get that wound checked out." Francis half stated, half pleaded. Francis would much rather avoid seeing the wound reopen and watch the redhead bleed out in front of him.

Rob sighed, "Fine, guess I'm getting this treated first." The redhead said with a shrug while he waved a hand across his wounded. Guess it was up to Itzal to explore the town for both of them while they were here.

Itzal smiled at hearing them come to a conclusion, although he believed Rob could handle the wound on his own like he had been this whole time he understood the concern from the others.

Zarina and Francis deadpanned at Itzals first mate, ' _He makes it sound like getting a serious wound treated is a chore._ ' Zarina thought to herself with Francis thinking something pretty damn similar.

Arabella, on the other hand, found the red-haired ex-bounty hunters antics rather entertaining, what kind of man ignores a wound to explore a town? One that valued a good time over safety!

"Right!" Arabella spoke gaining the groups' attention, "So we'll split up for now," She gestured to Rob and herself, "We'll go look for a doctor while the rest of you do your own business." She finished by clasping her hands together.

"Actually, Itzal and Francis can explore the town as they like, I'd rather join you two in finding and meeting this doctor or surgeon." She stated to the group as she moved closer to those two, "I have something I'd like to ask them about." She added at the end, a rather vague end but still, she had her reasons. She briefly turned to Arabella, "Are you sure you want to find a doctor with us?"

"Doesn't bother me at all," Arabella replied nonchalantly, either worked out in the end.

"Alright!" Itzal exclaimed, "You guys have fun!" He gave a small wave to the three that were about to leave in search of a doctor. Not entirely sure how you can have fun when looking for a doctor but whatever.

Arabella, Rob, and Zarina all turned to walk into town in search of a doctor but Rob turned his head back to pass a message to Itzal specifically, "I'll be ready to leave at any time." He informed his friend as he walked with his group.

He just wanted Itzal to know he could leave this island whenever he wanted, he'd leave on his orders even if his injuries weren't fully healed.

With that half of the group departed it left Itzal, Francis and their little monkey companion Sherlock. Itzal had complete freedom to explore Loguetown as he pleased.

Francis, on the other hand, had mixed feelings about it, on one hand, he had finally reached an island where he could go off on his own, finally escape the marines and disappear. At least that's what he hoped but at the same time he now had to adapt to what was here, he needed a plan. Where was he going to stay? Earn money? Eat? Where would he go from here? Would he jump aboard another ship and see where it leads? Or take his chances here and live in Loguetown. He just didn't have the answers to these questions and he didn't even have a place to begin.

Francis turned to Itzal for a moment, ' _At least I have one friend with me as I investigate this place.'_ He thought to himself. Odd how an ex-marine thought a pirate such as Itzal to be his friend, what kind of twist was that? A pirate and a marine working together.

"Itzal," Francis spoke, gaining the pirate captains' attention, "Mind if I tag along with you? We're both new here after all, we can both search for what we need together."

A response came quick from the pirate, "Of course! If you have any ideas for places to explore tell me! I'm pretty sure I'd lose myself in the town, distracted by everything they have to offer." Itzal told his comrade as Sherlock crawled from one shoulder to the other.

Francis tilted his head down, a small smile formed across his face, "Thank, I appreciate the company." Francis gave a nod of his gratitude before gesturing toward the main entrance into the town, "Lead the way."

Itzal stepped off first to lead them both but Francis kept pace beside him, the pair were off to explore Loguetown to see what they could use for their future.

* * *

Arabella, Rob, and Zarina had covered considerable ground as they passed through the town, along the way they had gotten information that there was a clinic up in the hills out of town where there was a doctor and apprentice that could help them with whatever medical related needs they had.

Of the three is was Zarina that was leading the questioning as they had ventured through the town, she felt she was better suited to ask since she believed it would be best if Arabella remained mostly uninvolved since this really wasn't her problem to deal with and for Rob just to generally stay quiet. She knew for a fact that Rob would say something that could cause trouble, whether he tells someone why they're looking for medical attention, of his injury and how he got it or just cause trouble. He was a professional at the last one in her mind, even Rob would probably agree with her if ask and she could imagine the smirk on his face as he said it as well.

The group had asked passersby if they could point them in the direction of the nearest doctor. Oddly enough the group learned that the only doctors on the island were located in a clinic slightly out of town, apparently, they preferred their privacy, away from the busy streets. They were there for call outs if required but otherwise, if you could make it to the clinic is was recommended you go there instead of calling them down to the town.

A few details were left out though in Zarinas' mind, for one they didn't share the exact location nor did they share the names of those that resided with the clinic. Surely knowing the names of the doctors might help if they had needed to ask around for them? Isn't wasn't anything crucial but it could have been helpful to know.

Regardless the group were currently walking across the grassy, tree-covered hills in the direction they'd been given. Since they were more focused on the objective on hand they didn't get a chance to explore the town. From weapon shops that the red-haired helmswoman would like to check out, book stores and a library are what caught Zarinas' attention but she too had to ignore it. Rob probably just wanted to cause trouble somewhere and if he was left to his own devices he more than likely would.

This Arabella found rather amusing at times, there were points were the injured redhead attempt to either leave the group because he wanted to check something out or straight-up tried to convince Zarina they could search for a doctor later, however, Zarina was having none of it as she shut down every attempt he made with the help of Arabella. There was entertainment to be found in how those acted, they seemed like they knew each other so well yet from what Arabella knew they hadn't known each other very long. They looked and acted like siblings without even realizing it, this reminding her of her own family in turn.

But that was for another day.

So far everyone they'd met had been nothing but helpful and polite, people waved and smiled as they passed you by in the streets. No fighting or arguments, people just going about their lives in peace. Loguetown seemed to be a place of peace which was odd considering some of the things the group noticed.

To begin, there was no marine presence, at least not that any of them saw. No sign of a marine base, no flags, no armed patrols, nothing. While this wasn't odd considering the marine presence in the blue seas was basically non-existent, publically at least, it was surprising that the town didn't seem to have any connection to the outside world. One would think the marines would use Loguetown as a sort of lookout post, a place where they can watch and track ships that were heading to the Grandline and intercept any suspicious ships that pass through.

But that wasn't the case, the town was left to its own devices like the majority of islands in the East Blue.

However, Rob knew exactly what that meant. With no guards on the island, this island was vulnerable which meant there were bound to be some factions that caused problems here. His experience as a bounty hunter gave him insight into what kind of places criminals attack and raid and from what he'd seen thus far this town was a prime target for raids, attacks and other such things.

Although he kept that to himself at the moment, no need to share that information just yet, he considered telling Zarina at some point. He knew Zarina and Francis both wanted to jump ship and leave on their own before they reached the Grandline, since this was the last one before reaching Reverse mountain they, more than likely, planned to leave the group here. Rob would make sure to warn them of this information if they did, in fact, go their separate ways, they could use any information they could to help them survive on their own.

Rob put that thought to the side as he noticed something above the trees ahead, "Oi," He spoke aloud to get the attention of the others beside him. Both Arabella and Zarina glanced his way, "Smoke, above the treeline." He nodded in the direction he wanted them to look, both of them turning to see the smoke he was referring to.

"Looks like a small fire, I'd suspect it might be from a fireplace or a controlled bonfire." Zarina hypothesized, the smoke wasn't thick and black like that of a wildfire.

"Best place to go if we're looking for a clinic out here," Arabella said aloud, her tone and expression mostly neutral although one could tell she was rather bored at the moment which didn't go unnoticed by her two comrades. "Let's go check it out." If Arabella was honest she'd rather go check out the town, sure she'd been here before but she never actually left the ship, she'd stuck to her duty as a helmswoman and stuck with the ship, getting the job done as quickly as possible. At some point, she'd like to see what the word was around town and some places to visit.

There was a brief pause in the group before Rob spoke up, "Arabella if you want you can head back to town, explore the place and meet up with Itzal and Francis or something, I'm sure there are other ways you'd rather be spending your time." He suggested to the other redhead of their small band of crazies.

Off to his side stood Zarina who also looked toward Arabella, she was of the same mindset. She was the newest addition to their little traveling group but she needn't involve herself with their affairs if she didn't want to. Arabella herself admitted she felt like repaying them for their help on Tear island but this wasn't part of that debt.

"I agree with the troublemaker," Zarina began once Rob finished, referring him by a title as opposed by a name, "While we appreciate your help in this matter we don't want to burden you with our own issues. We both have a reason to seek out this clinic and its residents but you're only here to accompany us. We won't keep you if you don't want to be here."

Arabella merely shrugged it off, tipping back and forth on her feet slightly, "I don't mind, sure this is boring but I can deal with it."

"We'll be fine on our own from here," Zarina continued, fixing her glasses as she spoke, "To be honest, I just wanted you with us in the town so you could keep an eye on this one," Zarina hiked a thumb in Robs' direction, "while I asked around town for a doctor. Someone needed to keep him under surveillance."

"You two sure?" Arabella question, "I'll be fine either way." Arabella's eye flicked between the two for a moment before a playful smile formed on her face, "Besides, I did enjoy watching you two argue. You two are a great source of entertainment!" Arabella stated in her usual happy-go-lucky tone.

Zarina just rolled her eyes while Rob half hid a smirk between the shade of his hat, of the two it was Rob that responded first, "What can I say? I'm a real riot to be around." He joked to his two comrades.

"Or a riot starter…" Zarina muttered to herself as she gave Rob a side glance after his comment.

Arabella seemed to mull over the idea for a minute, on one hand, she'd like to stick with these two to not only make sure they got to the clinic but to also see what happens, on the other hand, she could explore the town for anything of interest to her.

"You could help out Itzal and Francis too, I'm sure they could use your expertise on anything ship related. Perhaps find anything of use for your adventure to the Grandline?" Zarina suggested to her, a true statement as well. Itzal wasn't a highly experienced sailor, while Francis was a marine he wasn't a helmsman so Arabella knew better for the sake of the ship.

"Alright!" Arabella exclaimed, throwing her arms upward before letting them fall back to her sides, "I'll head back to find what we might need for our travels and see if I can't meet up with Itzal and Francis along the way!" Her tone matching its normal self.

Rob just gave her a casual smirk while Zarina nodded in agreement, looks like it was going to be Rob and Zarina on their own for a while.

"We'll catch up with yous at some point," Rob told her as he turned his attention back to the smoke above the treeline for a brief moment.

"See yas soon!" Arabella replied before turning and heading back toward town at a calm and rhythmic pace.

Zarina turned back to the injured redhead that remained with her, a brief thought coming across her mind which caused her to sigh in disdain.

Rob didn't respond, instead just waited for her to speak her mind which she swiftly did, "On our own again, just like on the island with the marine base." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Please let this go smoother than that time…"

Her statement only received a small chuckle from her red-haired comrade, "I make no promises." He said as he turned and began walking in the direction of the smoke.

Zarina gave him a subtle glare before mumbling to herself, "Of course you don't…" She picked up her pace and followed behind the redhead in search of the clinic.

It didn't take long for the pair to locate the source of the smoke, in a small clearing stood a rather strong and sturdy looking building with a few strange things to note such as iron bars protecting the windows and to be a reinforced door. Small patches off to the side which Zarina hypothesized were being used to grow herbs or food, possibly both. On the other side was a wood cutting log and ax with a stockpile of wood to burn. This place could take care of itself if it needed to.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume this is the place." Rob broke the silence of the pair, not wanting or needing a response from Zarina he made his way over to the building. Zarina following alongside him.

The pair approached the building and stopped at the front door, the closer you looked at the building the more one realized it how strong and well built it was. Odd for a house, such as this, on its own like this to be well guarded in a way, protective measures.

Rob didn't hesitate and knocked on the door, hard. A bit too hard as he slightly dented the door much to Zarinas disdain. "Hello! Anyone home!" The redhead called out alongside the knock.

"Did you really have to hit it that hard…" Zarina muttered to herself, clearly loud enough for Rob to hear. She wasn't looking for a response she just wanted him to think before doing something like that next time.

A response came rather quickly in the form of a voice above them. The pair took a step back to see a man leaning out the window looking at them.

A man that gazed upon them appeared to be between sixty-five to seventy years of age, so an older gentleman, greyed hair and soft kind eyes.

"Sorry to disturb you but we're looking for a doctor," She gestured toward the injured ex-bounty hunter, "My friend here needs medical attention." She clarified to the older gentleman, Rob giving the guy a wave of his in conjunction with what Zarina said.

His eyes darted between the two for a moment but his small, genuine smile never left his face, "Then you can both rest easy, I'm a doctor. I'll be right down." The man disappeared from the window back inside his home.

"That was easy," Zarina stated to herself, fixing herself slightly to make herself more presentable. First appearances were important after all.

"Too easy." Rob continued after Zarina, clearly finding this suspicious. Although he was grateful this wasn't going to take much effort he was very friendly to two new faces.

The door open seconds later to reveal the same old man from before, he took a step back and ushered them inside, "Please, come in."

The pair entered with Zarina giving the old man a small bow of gratitude before making their way to the center of the room.

The first room the pair found themselves in was a mixture of a waiting room and a living space, a stone fireplace providing both warmth and light to the room. It gave off a log cabin vibe on the inside yet the structure on the outside said differently.

"Now, what can I help you with?" The old man asked but before either Rob or Zarina could answer he spoke again, "Oh, where are my manners. My name is Cavaliere Raphael, I'm both the leading doctor and owner of this clinic." The man now known as Raphael introduced himself.

Without any hesitation, Rob responded, "The name's Rob, nice to meet ya old-timer." he gave Raphael a nod of his head in acknowledgment.

Zarina was far more polite in her introduction, "Arkenstone Erie Zarina, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Far more polite and formal in nature.

"So, what exactly is the problem with your friend here?" Raphael asked Zarina. He could have asked Rob directly but it was Zarina that had spoken to him first outside the window so he'd go to her to find answers.

She turned to the redhead, "Do you mind showing him?" Zarina half asked, half told Rob. It would be far easy to just show the problem then explain it. Avoid spilling the details as to how exactly this happened in the first place, if possible.

Rob wasted no time in undoing his shirt, revealing the bandages underneath however he continued by loosening some of the bandages to reveal the severe wound hidden and slowly healing.

Zarina looked away for a moment, she found herself not comfortable seeing the wound that way. It simply wasn't pleasant to look at, memories of how they found the redhead on Tear island was something Zarina would rather keep in the back of the mind, not the forefront.

Raphael stepped closer to the young, red-haired pirate, he gently moved the bandages to get a closer look at the exposed wound. "How did you manage something like that? A wound like that would kill any man." In his professional experience a wound like that is lethal, one doesn't walk away in such a state, he could only imagine what it was like fresh. "How long have you had this wound?"

"About five days," Rob replied nonchalantly before Zarina could answer, honestly not caring all that much about the state he was in. In his opinion, he would have been fine on his own.

Raphael seemed a bit worried to hear that, "If I'm to stitch this wound properly then I might have to cut the wound open in some places to make sure the wound heals evenly." He stated to the pair in front of him.

"If it must be done for the sake of his health then by all means," Zarina replied to the doctor, sure it was Rob's decision but he'd just leave if he had the choice.

Raphael turned and began to head further into the back of the building, "Please follow me." He gestured for them both to follow him.

He lead the pair to what appeared to be an operating room, sterile, clean and purely white. "Please, take a seat while I prepare for surgery."

Rob and Zarina turned to see a few seats lining the wall of the room, seeing she was given permission she took the chance to take the weight off her feet. Rob however just leaned against the doorframe leading into the room, he wasn't bothered all that much.

"Do you have many other doctors working for you?" Rob asked out of the blue as they waited for Raphael to complete his preparations. Zarina herself was interested in the conversation, the more she could learn about the doctor the better.

"I do, an apprentice of mine." Raphael replied as he prepared some surgical tools, "And if I'm honest I'd rather wait for him to return before we begin operating. He's much younger than I and he has excellent skills that would be greatly appreciated during the process." Raphael laughed for a moment, "Although he might appear a bit rough around the edges he's highly skilled and well trained."

"Are we going to be waiting long for your apprentice?" Zarina asked from her sitting position, arms crossed and one leg over the other. She wasn't in any particular rush at the moment but she'd rather have a wound treated sooner rather than later.

Raphael put a hand up in a calming manner, "Not at all, he should be arriving back shortly." He reassured them both, it would be both a good thing for the injured redhead and his apprentice to get the experience of another surgery under his belt.

"What's his name?" Rob questioned. Might as well get to know about your surgeon before you meet him right?

"His name is Schimdt Benedict," Raphael replied, a fond smile passing across the old doctors' face.

* * *

It didn't take long for Arabella to return to the main town since they didn't cross over too many hills to get to where the group had separated.

Now, here she stood in back in the town wondering what to do for a moment, she could either immediately going looking for Itzal and Francis or check out a few stores herself and maybe come across them at some point. The same result, in the end, she'd find the boys eventually.

So seeing as the result was the same she decided to explore the town herself for awhile. Which is exactly what she did. Arabella wandered the streets of Loguetown taking in all the sights and sounds around her, the chatting, the laughing, the bartering, everything around her.

A small smile crept across her face, this is why she valued her freedom. She could just wander around, doing as she pleased and enjoy life as she saw fit. Nobody can take that away from her.

A brief wander later and a store located along the main street caught her eye, a weapon store to be specific. Now Arabella was a weapons kind of girl, she did love a solid, well crafted and sturdy weapon to cause damage with. The perfect example being her Storm Breaker, her beloved and treasured ax she hardly ever let go off.

Weapons being an interest of hers she decided to take a closer look at the weapons this store might have to offer. Arabella walked toward the store and entered, a bell ringing out above the door clearly being used to indicate to the shopkeep that someone had just arrived.

Once inside Arabella quickly surveyed the store, a few points catching her attention. For one the shopkeep was not present at the moment despite the fact someone could easily hear her enter and two the store looked only half stocked and from her brief glance over some of the weapons they were of the lower quality wares.

A small pace around the store only confirmed this theory as she examined a few weapons much closer, ' _I could easily break all these weapons…_ ' The redhead thought to herself, in honestly these weapons would surely shatter or at least be damaged if they came across a superior quality weapon.

She paused her walk around, "Hello? Anyone here?" She called out in an attempt to find the shopkeep. It seemed to work as a long nose was heard in the backroom

"One second, I'll be right with you!" A voice called out to her, a male voice but from what she could tell it didn't sound soft or tired. There was a bit of life to the voice.

A few moments later a man appeared from the back room, he looked to be in his early forties. He was reasonably well built, rough face and skin and wore boots and a mechanics jumpsuit but he only stood as five foot nine. His hair had a few graces of grey but mostly retained its brown color and his eyes matched his hair.

"Sorry about that, what can I help ya with?" He asked in a polite tone, a friendly smile on his face. The usual one a person would have for a potential customer.

"I'm mostly browsing, just wanted to make sure I wasn't invading your store when it was meant to be closed." She told the man before a question came to mind. "Can I ask where all your stock might be? You haven't got much in terms of choice." Arabella asked, curious as to how a store like this might have such low-quality stock.

The man gazed her a quick once over, brows furrowed in thought, she noticed his eyes lingered longer than necessary but she didn't call him out on it.

"Are you new to Loguetown?" He asked her, crossing his arms as he spoke, "You don't look like you're from around here."

Arabella didn't see any issue in letting him know she was from out of town, "That I am, I've delivered goods to this island before but I've never spent more than a few hours at the docks before departing again." Her statement made it sound like she was just a merchant or a trader and nothing more, nobody would have expected a smuggler. Although the ax on her back might make people suspicious of her it didn't seem to bother the weapon store clerk.

"Ah," The said as he shifted on the spot, "Well, that would explain why you don't know what goes on this island then. The reason why my wares are so few and of low quality is because I'm storing all my valuable goods in the back, in a vault for safety reasons." The clerk said to her as he leaned against the doorframe leading to the back of the store.

"Safety purposes?" Arabella questioned, sure she could understand the safety of one's stock but all that was left was the low-quality stuff that wouldn't sell very well. She looked toward the clerk, a curious expression on her face. "Mind telling me safety from what?"

* * *

Itzal, Francis and, of course, Sherlock continued to explore the beautiful Loguetown streets, one wouldn't expect the town to be as pleasant and genuinely fun to wander around yet this place did it. There really was something special about this place, a sense of great history attached to its name.

Thus far the pair only checked out a few places of interest, first of which was the market stalls that littered the streets that lead toward the docks. Merchants, traders and potential customers walked about the streets, all of them going about their day like any other.

From there the pair went further into the town, they'd come across so many things in such little time. From a weapon shop to a larger restaurant and then the massive plaza at the centre of it all. Itzal, for some reason, found the plaza to be an impressive sight, there was just this gut instinct he felt that a lot of great things happened here.

Itzal had been enjoying his time in Loguetown so far, he'd seen so much here and there were still a few places he wanted to explore.

Francis as well had appreciated his time spent wandering the town, he'd gotten a brief chance to distract himself but he also got to meet a few people along the way. People that he might be able to talk to about helping him out later down the line once Itzal and the others leave.

Although they didn't have any treasure or money to really trade or purchase anything with they still enjoyed the sightseeing.

As the pair wandered another street, something caught Itzals' eye. He stopped where he stood which caused Francis to halt and turn to him. "What is it Itzal? Something wrong?" Francis asked, curious as to what caused him to stop, even their little company Sherlock watched Itzal from his shoulder, although he somewhat got his answer as he swiftly followed Itzals gaze being met with a rather old shop at a corner that lead to a back alley. Nothing amazing about it, it was dirty and rusty on the exterior in places and didn't appear to be very well lit.

The shop front didn't seem anything amazing though Francis considered the fact that the store had a jolly roger in the window and was named _Treasures of the Sea_. Something that quite obviously would catch the young pirates' attention.

"Francis," Itzal began gaining said comrades attention, "Mind if we check this place out?" Itzal still keeping his usual excited tone about him.

Francis gave his comrade a small smile, "Of course, lead on." Francis gestured with a swing of his hand toward the shop. As if agreeing with Francis, Sherlock chirped away happily in agreement.

Itzal nodded to Francis before walking toward the shop with Francis in toe.

The pair entered the store side by side, both of them surveyed the interior for a moment. The store was dimly lit, the only sources of light being scattered candles throughout, slightly dusty and rather cramped in places, there were a lot of goods stacked atop each other, not at all organized in some areas. One would find it hard to both move around if the store was busy and hard to locate some of the goods that were buried beneath others. Not even the shopkeep was found in here, they were alone.

It wasn't a golden sight to see, especially when some of the treasures honestly didn't seem all that valuable on the surface level but one could judge it for that alone.

Sherlock immediately dived off Itzals' shoulder onto the hanging trinkets and rope from the ceiling and began crawling around above them.

Itzal and Francis broke off to explore the strange store, Itzal broke off to the right side, examining all the dusty and some moldy books and trinkets he found such as old scrolls, letters, tore up flags and other oddities such as small ships in bottles and even some pirate-like weapons such as old flintlocks and cutlasses.

Francis examined the vast amount of books on the left side of the store, stacks going as high as the ceiling, creating this sort of small maze of stacked books and goods to walk around in.

"This is a strange place," Itzal said aloud as he examined more oddities of the store, peering through a jar filled with what he might have guessed was seawater with a variety of bones in them.

"Strange indeed, Francis agreed as he picked up a book and flicked through it, "Strange as it might be one can never just look surface level, who knows what kind of secrets some these mind hold the deeper you look."

Itzal smiled hearing that, Francis and his love of secrets and mysterious, Same sort of feeling Itzal had for his own passions.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" A voice asked out of nowhere surprising the two of them. They'd both thought they were alone in here but apparently they weren't.

They both turned to the source of the voice and saw an old small man standing on the counter, his arms behind his back.

This man appeared to be about eighty years of age, bald and wrinkled quite a bit. The man only stood at three feet tall so he was extremely short. He wore older baggier comfortable clothes and had a pair of small glasses.

"Woah, you're small," Itzal said rather bluntly causing Francis to mentally facepalm. Itzal being Itzal right there.

What a way to start off an introduction.

* * *

 **Bet yous are sick of the apologizes for the late chapters, sorry about that. Not much I can do when I'm busy.**

 **Regardless, the chapter here and so begins this arc. It's hopefully going to be a solid arc that wraps up in a few chapters, nothing too long, but it should bring about some important characters and details for the future.**

 **A brief Author Note this time.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Peace!**


	15. Saga 1: The Blue Sea (Part 15)

**Chapter 15 - Ain't nothing new**

* * *

There was a brief moment of silence after Itzals' comment about the small old man that announced his presence. Itzal, obviously, didn't see any real problem with his height, he did say it like it was, nothing more. Francis didn't believe it was being rude, far from it actually, but there was such a thing called being subtle. Something Francis was beginning to realize Itzal didn't do very well, a blessing and a curse. A truly double-edged sword.

However, the old man didn't seem at all bothered by Itzals comment, instead, he just smiled at the young pirate and gave a soft chuckle.

"That I am boy, that I am!" He finally responded to Itzals' statement. He didn't move from where he stood, his position and stance on the counter unchanging. Although a rather nasty cough came from the old man as he finished speaking.

"You okay?" Itzal asked, worried the old man might be ill however that was quickly dismissed by the old man. Francis too had the same concern but let Itzal voice it for both of them.

"I'll be fine lad, I still have a few years left in me." The old man sucked in a deep breath and looked between Itzal and Francis, eyeing them both up for a moment. "But enough of that! How can I help the both of you?"

Itzal and Francis looked between one another again, both of them agreed they'd had no real reason to come in here. Itzal was just curious while Francis just followed his friend. The store was just something that happened to catch Itzals' eye.

Itzal smiled at the old man, "I'm just curious about this place, it's so weird." He slowly swung his arm across the room, gesturing to all the oddities that lay around them. "But it's pretty cool to have all these things in one place, like all the pirate flags and treasures!" His eyes wandered the store briefly again, glancing between a few of the flags. However, there was one that caught his eye.

A jolly roger hanging in the corner, it was slightly obstructed by other items hanging from the ceiling but Itzal could still make it out. It stuck out simply for the fact it wasn't the normal skull and crossbones one would find on most pirate flags. This one was a smiley face with protrusions in six directions surrounding it. This was an old flag for sure, a few thorn edges and cuts over it, a little dusty as well.

Francis looked toward the flag as well, he paused in thought for a moment, " _I swear I've seen that flag somewhere before, from a book or a picture…_ " He thought briefly, his eyes wandered to the old man who was staring at Itzal intently. Once the old man saw where Itzal was staring he smiled although Francis had no idea why exactly.

"So," he began softly, "You have an eye for the pirate oddities and goods do ya?" His question lingered in the air for a moment as Itzal looked to the old man. He didn't get a chance to answer though as the old man continued, "That flag is from the old era, made long ago during the same generation as the previous pirate king." The old man's grin only widened as he watched the two young men in his store.

That little tidbit of information was enough for both Francis and Itzal, "It's that old?! How did you get your hands on something like that?" Itzal spoke to the old man, surprised and curious as to how the hell he found something like that but Francis seemed to interrupted that train of thought.

"Now I recognize that symbol," Francis spoke softly causing both the others in the store to turn to him, even the little monkey Sherlock watched him from his position on the ceiling. "The flag belonged to a Yonkou of that era right?" His eyes focused on the old man, "During the time of Monkey D. Luffy' pirate king days, a Yonkou by the name Trafalgar D. Law, captain of the Heart pirates used that as their flag. He was apart of the supernovas of that era along with the pirate king himself." Francis stated as factually as possible, his expression showed his surprise at seeing the flag but also his intrigue, that flag had so much history behind it. From its origin as a symbol, the man who used it was the symbol of his crew and the vessel it was flown on.

Itzal was rather amazed to hear that from Francis although not surprised he'd know that, Francis was a rather intelligent person, much like Zarina, but to actually hear about the history behind a simple flag was astonishing considering what that flag had probably been through.

The old man just laughed at both the men in front of him, their interest in this story and the history of some of its oddities was rather heartwarming to see. To have others see value in what others might call garbage or trash.

But that also begged another question, why?

While he was grateful to meet both of them you didn't meet people like them very often so he was curious about them but that could wake for now.

"I have plenty of treasures from the Golden age of piracy!" The old shopkeep exclaimed, "from books and journals to flags and weapons, I even have a figurehead stored in the back."

"Do you have many books from that era?" Itzal asked. Francis had been about to ask that himself, history was a passion of his after all. Looks like he and Itzal were both interested in reading up on that era, partially for different reasons but a shared interest nonetheless. Passion and curiosity are powerful motivators.

"I have something here and there," The old man waved his hand back and forth, gesturing to a section of the shop wall that was filled from floor to ceiling with books, "But I'm afraid if you wish to learn about a more in-depth story of that era my wares aren't what you're looking for."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem for us, to be honest, any sort of information or documentation of that era would be of interest to me and I'm sure it would be to Itzal as well," Francis responded as he walked over to where the man had gestured, scanning a few of the book titles in an attempt to find the books they were discussing.

Itzal chuckled slightly, "He's right, I'd like to learn as much as possible about that era so anything about it would be nice, no matter how small." Sherlock leaped from his hanging position and landed on Itzals shoulder, Itzal gave him a soft pat on the head as he continued in a soft undertone, "The golden age of piracy was truly an era of dreams."

A smile formed on the mans face, a smile that said he'd just figured something out, a knowing smile, "A young man like yourself isn't something I see every day, a man passionate about an era of dreams? Sounds like you have a dream yourself." He raised an eyebrow at Itzal waiting for him to answer. Itzal and Francis noticed the smile but while Itzal didn't mind, Francis read deeper into his expression, although he didn't find anything really malicious behind it he still found it odd. The old-timer clearly saw something in Itzal that made him react this way.

"I do, an ambition above all others, something I wish to achieve even if I have to die for it when I get there," Itzal stated rather vaguely, odd for Itzal considering he's so straightforward and blunt but he was probably going to go into more detailed when questioned.

The old man's smile didn't falter, "Oh? What ambition might that be?"

"I'm going to become King of the Pirates!" Itzal stated with a bit of pride in his tone of voice, "To become Pirate King is an ambition that is near impossible to achieve which is why I want to do it. To achieve something so incredible would make it a life lived well."

Words Francis has come to expect from Itzal and his passion for a persons dreams, especially his own. A small fond smile formed on the ex-marines face, the young pirate had a way with words sometimes.

Although he wasn't a fan of Itzal just up and telling anyone who asks that he was a pirate.

However, the old man gave a boisterous laugh, "Oh boy, looks like I still got it." His eyes drifted to the young pirate, "I can see it in your eyes, the spirit of adventure and passion. I haven't seen that spark in anyone for years!" The old-timer laughed again but this time it was more tame and mellow. "It's good to see that in ya lad. Tell me, what are your names?"

"Bellow Itzal," Itzal nodded over toward Francis, "He's Rose Francis," he finally pointed toward the little monkey on his shoulder," And this little guy is Sherlock." Itzal introduced them all, a small smile plastered across his face as he did so.

"A pleasure to meet y'all, you can call me Tobuscus." The old man now known as Tobuscus introduced himself. "Now young man, you said your ambition was to become Pirate king correct? Well, that must mean you're a pirate, a captain by the sounds of it too." Tobuscus stated as he hopped down from his position on the counter, he, rather briskly for an older man, made his way across his store to where Itzal stood. Once there he gave the young pirate a once over. "Tell me, lad, what's the name of your crew?"

"The Sky Pirates." A simple reply to a simple question. Francis stood off to the side of the store surrounded by books, although he stopped searching through them, instead choosing to watch the exchange between his friend and the Tobuscus. It piqued his interest, not many people are intrigued by self-proclaimed pirates, especially ones that actually have bounties like Itzal, yet Tobuscus didn't seem to care. What made him believe Itzal was anything special?

"Oh? A new pirate crew then? I haven't heard that name before." The old man spoke aloud, not to anyone in particular.

"Yeah, we're a small crew officially." Itzal stated, "Although we have a few people traveling with us." Itzals' eyes glanced to Francis but he was also referring to the others too. Technically speaking the only crewmate that Itzal had was Rob, unless you counted Sherlock too.

"Ah, so a crew of the new generation then." Tobuscus put a hand to his chin, "Do you have a ship? A flag? A reputation?" He swiftly fired off three questions, little tidbits of information about the young man's crew.

"Well, we do have a ship. A really good one actually, it's called DayStrider. As for a reputation, I guess you could say we have," Itzal titled his head slightly and shifted on the spot in thought, "Only a few days ago my first mate and I were issued bounties, so I suppose we've earned a reputation in the eyes of the marines."

" _This young lad gets more and more interest by the second._ " Tobuscus chuckled slightly before continuing, "It's impressive you've managed to piss off the marines and you've only just started. Well done." Needless to say, his reaction was odd to both the young men present, to be congratulated for receiving a bounty? Not something you'd hear very often.

The more time they spent speaking the more their opinion of him grew, for a start Itzal thought Tobuscus was an interesting old man, to have such a collection of treasures such as the ones in his shop. A man fascinated with pirates and their stories, something Itzal could appreciate as well. Francis would mostly agree with Itzals opinion but at the same time he was curious as to how and why the old man knew what he did, was he a retired scavenger? A former pirate? There was more mystery to Tobuscus one would expect from appearances alone.

"As for a flag, we don't have one." Itzal completed his answers to the trio of questions.

"You're a pirate without a flag?" Tobuscus asked incredulously, his expression clearly portraying his surprise at Itzals' answer. "How can you call yourself a pirate without something to represent it?"

"I just didn't have a chance to make one yet, is the flag really that important?" Itzal continued, he knew a flag was a symbol of a pirate crew but that was it, right?

"A flag is so much more lad!" Tobuscus exclaimed quickly, "A flag represents the crew and their passions and goals. It represents the crews ideals and what they truly believe in! To attack a flag is a direct attack on not only their crew but what they represent! A declaration of war! You need a symbol to show us your true colors."

Francis mulled over Tobuscus' words, he couldn't argue their wisdom. From his own experience, they were, a flag represented not only the organization but an ideal, even the marines didn't take an attack on their flag lightly. So it seemed it went both ways, marine and pirate.

Itzal too contemplated his words, if that truly was the case then what did Itzal want his crews flag to look like? Colors, design, symbolism. A small smirk appeared briefly across Itzals' face, " _I think I've just figured that out._ "

"Alright, you don't have a flag but do you at least have a design in mind?" Tobuscus asked drawing the others from their thoughts.

This inquiry interested Francis as well, he'd heard of Itzals ideology before through his speeches and his drive but it would be intriguing to see what kind of symbolism Itzal would have in mind along with it but one thing he knew for certain was it was bound to be inspiring whether he meant it to be or not.

"I do actually," The smile on his face not faltering, "The flag I'd want would be on a sky blue background, a jolly roger skull with black hair and small clouds emanating from various parts of the skull. But instead of the typical crossbones that accompanies the skull, I'd want a pair of black wings either side of it." Itzal paused for a moment, his eyes were looking toward the old man but they didn't see him. Too busy with his own mind to even know what was directly in front of him. But Itzal continued regardless, "It would represent limitless freedom, the wings allowing you to sore through the skies, no amount of land or seas can stop you, no limits and nothing to tell you where you can and can't go. Truly free."

Francis looked down to the book he held in his hand, a stupid grin on his face. " _Of course, freedom above all else._ "

Tobuscus was the same, a satisfied grin on his face. "A man after freedom and not power, I think I understand why you wish to become Pirate King."

"To seek the ultimate freedom," Itzal replied, it wasn't a question but it was a statement that deserved an answer.

"Well young men, I have to say it was an honor to meet you both you in my humble little shop. I haven't met anyone quite like either of you in a long time, so tell ya what. I'll give you something in return, come back to me before you leave and I'll give you some of my wares and books as a gift, how does that sound?" Tobuscus stated, surprising both men in the store.

"You'd just give away something so valuable?" Francis asked incredulously, "I'd be grateful for anything on history but are you sure you're willing to part with some of these old treasures?"

"It wouldn't be fair to take something from you like that." Itzal sided with Francis' statement.

"Nonsense, both of you saw value here, something nobody else really does. Something I've also grateful for, so knowing this, anything I'd give you would be used well." Tobuscus countered them both, putting up a hand to silence them both before either Itzal or Francis could counter, "Please, don't argue with me on this. I insist."

Itzal nodded to the old man after a quick glance over to Francis, who in turn nodded at Itzal as confirmation, "Thank you Tobuscus, we appreciate the gesture."

Tobuscus laughed to himself, "Alright, now then. Begone with the both of you! Allow me to gather what I plan to give you." There was a pause, neither Itzal nor Francis moved to leave immediately. "Go on! Scram! Return before you leave the island." Tobuscus shooed them toward the door, waving his hands at them.

This time they got the message, Francis left the book behind and they both swiftly moved to the entrance of the shop. Francis was the first through the door but paused as he and Itzal looked back to Tobuscus who was watching them both leave.

Both Itzal, Francis, and Sherlock gave a wave as they finally left the store, continuing on their exploration of Loguetown.

Wordlessly Tobuscus turned on the spot and made his way to the backroom of his shop toward his office. Once he entered he moved to his desk and pulled out a den den mushi, dialed it and waited.

A moment later a voice came through, "Tobuscus?" The voice asked but not really needing an answer, "I don't usually get a call from you when you're only a few streets away. What's this about?"

"I'd like to ask a favor of you if you don't mind," Tobuscus replied.

"With what exactly?" The slightly strained voice on the other side asked.

Tobuscus smirked for a moment, "Tell me, could you have a flag made by the end of the day?"

* * *

Arabella strolled down the streets of the still busy island of Loguetown, her thoughts contemplated what she'd heard earlier, just before she'd left the store she had helped the shopkeep move some of his weapons back to his vault as he explained the situation to her. Needless to say, she wasn't too pleased about what she'd heard. The story of Loguetown was so simple on the surface, the town was known as a stop-off point when entering the Grandline so the trade industry was booming, although Arabella already knew this from experience as a smuggler, she's delivered trade and smuggled goods to this town before so that's nothing new however she learned that despite the highly active trade route the security of this place was extremely low, only a few individuals protected the cargo and ships. She'd heard mention of individuals and pairs that were sometimes hired to protect conveys from pirates and bandits but those were few and far between, most conveys were left unguarded and as a result, attracted unwanted attention from a bandit clan from another island. While Arabella had experienced bandits attempting to raid conveys she commanded their attempts always failed simply because she was there to defend them.

What made matters worse was the fact Loguetown itself was unguarded, she'd learned that this town suffered from bandit attacks every so often which is already bad enough but the town didn't have any form of security to defend it. No official guard unit, no marines, and no hired mercenaries. Although there apparently were a few individuals that fought them off they were few and far between. Not much stood in their way and so a lot was stolen from the island whenever these bandits decided to raid.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much Arabella could do at the moment with mere information, the weapon store clerk just packed away his weapons whenever the town had gone too long without being raided, that didn't mean any bandits would be showing up soon.

But she had a gut feeling something was going to happen but she had other things to do currently. Her eyes drifted to the darkening sky above, some dark rain clouds had rolled in. It might not be raining at the moment but it wouldn't stay that way for long, Arabella couldn't shake the feeling something was coming.

For the time being, she'd have to go and locate Itzal and Francis and inform them of what she'd heard, mainly she wanted to warn them about the possibility of being ambushed on their travels to Reverse mountain. Although she kinda knew they could handle themselves if anything was to happen, herself and Itzal were there and from what the others had mentioned the injured redhead was just as strong as they were. Not much could hinder their travels with the three of them there, hell they only really needed one person to deal with bandit problems.

So Arabella continued to walk the streets searching for any clue as to where Itzal and Francis might be. But a simple thought crossed her mind.

" _This was going to be an interesting day._ "

* * *

Zarina remained seated at Raphael finished preparing the surgical table and room, about twenty minutes had passed in silence and to be honest, Zarina was grateful for that, it gave her a moment's respite from her rampant thoughts. She had a lot on her mind the past few days but she's only had a few moments to breath and think things through, moments like this where she could just sit and think for herself peacefully were truly required and appreciated.

Zarina sat in the chair, arms and legs crossed, perfectly upright but her head was leaned back slightly tipping off the wall for support, her eyes drifting upwards in thought. " _Perhaps Raphael knows an individual in town that can assist me, whether that is by smuggling me off this island in a direction I want to go or just supplying me until a better opportunity presents itself for me to leave._ " She hummed to herself for a moment, " _Maybe I can be of assistance at this clinic and work here for a time, I don't like the idea of sailing with complete strangers._ " That thought alone poked at Zarina, she wasn't comfortable sailing with strangers yet she was perfectly fine with Itzal and the others. Her brows furrowed. Perhaps she thought of them as her friends then, which was odd considering she hadn't known them all that long. There was just something about them that kept her around, allowed her guard down more around them and yet she couldn't explain why logically.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Raphael, "Alright, everything is ready, just waiting on Benedict to return and clean up to begin." He explained to both Zarina and Rob, his attention shifted toward Rob who stood leaning against the doorway, although he discarded his shirt and left it lying on a chair. The only thing covering his chest were the bandages that wrapped his wound. "Please lay down so I can at least remove your bandages and clean you up beforehand." His hand gesturing to the surgical table in the center of the room.

Zarinas eyes lingered on Robs injury for a while longer, she felt her gut twist into a knot seeing his injury albite still covered. Zarina knew why, she just disliked the injury. She knew a wound like that is normally lethal and yet Rob was walking around with it and that's her problem. She didn't want to see someone she'd been traveled with thus far with such a bad injury.

But as she'd learned, Itzal and Rob were expecting this kind of thing along their journey and the worst part about it, they accepted it. Neither of them were afraid of the possibility of injury or death in their future, they expected to face it and fought to overcome it.

They both really were insane.

Yet she'd sailed with them, learned to not only respect but also care for them in such a short time, what did that say about her then?

Rob made his way over to the table, "I have only one request if you're going to operate." He stated as he reached the table.

"Of course, what might that be?" Raphael replied swiftly, he was rather obliging for someone he was going to be operating on.

"No anesthesia or any painkillers whatsoever throughout." Raphael looked a bit confused and worried, his eyes glanced to Zarina with concern and questioning gaze.

However, Zarina wasn't much help either. Her expression, although far more subtle, showed some concern while also being unsurprised. " _Why is he so stupid…_ " That's all she could think of when she thought of Rob. All she wanted to do was sit him and Itzal down and thoroughly question them both about what goes through their heads. Her gaze turned back to Raphael and shrugged at him before turning away from the whole situation, although she was trying to distance herself from the situation she was seriously concerned about how Rob didn't want any pain relief medicine, she'd rather not have to hear any grunts and shouts of pain from him if they had to reopen the wound in certain places.

Seeing he wasn't getting any help, Raphael turned back to Rob and leaned back, released a small breath before speaking, "Alright, we'll operate without any drugs."

Rob smirked at the confirmation there would be no drugs involved in his surgery, "Cheers for that one." He gave Raphael a subtle nod before he sat on the table.

Just as he did the group heard the slamming of a door, while neither Rob or Zarina seemed to react, Raphael did.

"Benedict! That's you correct?" He called out from his position as he started to cut away at the stained bandages on his subject.

"Yeah, Doc, it's me!" A somewhat rough voice replied from within the building, a few bangs echoed through the clinic. He had probably dropped something, more than likely the things he'd been sent to gather from the town.

"You can abandon what you're doing right now, we have a patient here that needs our immediate attention, we need to operate," Raphael called out as he finished removing the bandages, tossing them to a nearby bin.

A few rapid steps later revealed a new figure in the doorway. This must be Schimdt Benedict.

He appeared to be twenty-four years of age and stood at roughly six-foot, one inch. Seemed to be of a decently toned but athletic build. He had short blonde hair on top, more faded on the sides, grey eyes. He had a strong jawline, rectangular facial features. He wore a black leather biker jacket with a red shirt underneath, ripped jeans, a pair of black combat boots and a combat knife attached to a leather belt. A few other trinkets to note was the fact he wore black glasses, both his ears were pierced with small black plugs, a leather watch on his left wrist and paracord bracelets on his right. A lion-shaped ring on his right index finger finished his look.

Benedicts grey eyes immediately fell toward Rob, eyes zoning in on his exposed wound. He seemed to be taken aback at seeing that wound, "What the fuck happened to you? Did you wrestle a sea king or something?"

While Zarina didn't seem that impressed by his statement it was Rob that beat her to a response. "Nah, I wanted to see what would break first, my body or a sword." Rob joked back, a smirk across his face, "Needless to say I won since I'm still here." He added at the end.

Zarina just rolled her eyes at his attempt at humor.

"I hope you at least made the sword bleed worse than you did." Benedict countered his joke however their exchange was swiftly cut off by Raphael.

"Benedict, please." He began softly, "Go clean yourself and prepare for surgery, get some scrubs and join me quickly." His mentor instructed. Benedict nodded in response.

"I'll be right back." Benedict swiftly moved past the group to a back room, probably some kind of clean up room. Clean themselves and their equipment back there.

"That was interesting," Rob spoke aloud as he lay himself down on the surgical table, his eyes fell to Zarina in her seat. "You gonna be okay over there?" He asked, his voice at least showing some sort of concern, "You sure you can handle blood?"

Zarina shook her head, "I'll stay as long as I can but if you start yelling pain I'm honestly not sure how much of that I can take." While she was by no means squeamish, blood was a natural thing after all but she'd rather avoid watching Rob bleed all over the table and the fact he wanted to avoid any form of anesthesia still irked her but she'd deal with it for now.

Rob threw up a thumbs up at her response, "Let's get this over with." He stated calmly, too calmly for someone about to go through painful surgery.

This man was insane.

* * *

Off on the top of the biggest hill just outside Loguetown itself stood a small wooden tower that wrapped around a large tree, twisting and turning all the way up it, the building itself could be described as a mix of a tower and a treehouse. Entirely made of wood although it was better built than one might imagine, it was a dream treehouse really.

Despite that the structure itself was both strong and oddly enough well hidden among the trees, you had to walk right up to the tree to really notice the structure as a whole but what stood out most about this little outpost was its vantage point. At the treehouse was a small lookout point where one could view the sea from any direction, you had a clear view of the ocean no matter which way you looked.

A young man emerged from within the structure onto one of the balconies, the one located at the top of the crows nest. The young man looked to be nineteen years old, he had scraggly blonde hair, dark blue eyes, his features were soft like that of someone who hasn't faced harsh conditions yet he had a scar over his lip as if someone had sliced his lips with a blade. His outfit consisted of a grey and red long coat, a black shirt under his jacket, grey trousers, a red scarf that covered most of his neck and black boots. On his back, he had a rifle held tightly, a custom rifle. The front of the rifle had a blade hanging from the bottom of the barrel. If held a certain way the rifle could be wielded as a scythe. A weapon that could be used as a scythe and a rifle.

The young man pulled out his spyglass and eyed one of the coasts, scanning for any ships out in the distance. Once he'd made sure that coast was clear he moved to another balcony and did the same.

"Crow!" A feminine voice called out from below causing the male to look down to a balcony below his. This obviously meant the young man's name was Crow seeing as he responded to it.

On the floor below his stood a young woman, roughly the same age at the male, Crow, was. She had dark black, slightly ruffled, hair that when down to her mid-back, her eyes were a piercing vibrant red, her features were soft just as Crows were but she also had a small scar of her own on her left eyebrow. She wore a pair of black and red boots, red trousers with leather straps across various parts of her legs. Her torso, which was rather well endowed, was wrapped in a more traditional samurai robe with gauntlets on both forearms and shoulder guards as armor. On her hip, strapped to her belt, was two katanas. Both weapons looked elegant and well crafted. Clearly they must both be graded swords however that was something learn more about later on. To finish off her look she wore a mask, the mask was mostly white with red streaks across it in a pattern. The creature the mask resembled was that of a dragon, fangs flared and ready to attack.

"What's the report?" The woman asked, her tone clean-cut and rather professional sounding.

Crow shifted on the spot as he placed a hand on the railing, "Still checking but clear so far." Crow replied to the woman although he sighed at the end of his statement. "I don't like it Raven, it's been longer than usual."

The woman now identified as Raven nodded in agreement, "It's odd for those bandit scum to be gone for so long, that might not bode well." Her tone relaying her composure and control.

"I don't like it," Crow continued, his eyes staring out to sea. "Something big is coming, we pissed them off quite badly last time." Their last exchange with bandits had been quite brutal in all honesty.

"Not much we can do about it." Raven replied, "Let's just prepare ourselves as best we can." Ravens stance remained rigid and stiff, like that of a soldier. Her gaze fell away from her friend.

Crow just shook his head at Ravens dismissive response. " _We can only prepare so much, I at least hope Benedict might join the fight with us if things went down._ " Crow thought to himself before opening his spyglass once again.

Minutes pass in silence before Crow spots something close by the island. He focused his spyglass closer on the ship that was nearing the docks of Loguetown. " _Fuck! They're that close?! When did they manage to get that close without me spotting them?!_ " Crow pocketed his spyglass swiftly after spotting the ship nearing the docks. "Raven!" he called to his friend as he jumped down to her side, "We need to move, the bandits are here!" He stated as he rapidly descended the tower, Raven didn't waste time responding and followed him just as quickly as he was moving.

Both young adults began to run toward Loguetown, weapons ready for a fight they both knew was coming.

A raid was coming.

* * *

 **And here's another chapter, I'll try get another one out soon too. At least Loguetown is picking up pace, hopefully, the next chapter will have some action as well. I'll try put more effort into the next two chapters to try and wrap this arc up sooner.**

 **At least this chapter served to introduce a few important characters so that's a plus.**

 **Not much to say this AN so that's it.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Peace!**


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